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A 
MOTHEE'S 


PLEA  FOR  THE  SABBATH 


[N    A    SERIES    OF 


LETTERS   TO  AN   ABSENT   SON, 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  FACTS, 


^ 

BY  MRS.  LUCY  K.  WELLS. 


SECOND     EDITION 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTORY  KSbAY. 

BY    REV    WILLIAM    WARREN 


PORTLAND: 

HYDE,    LORD   &   DURENi 

1845. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843. 

BY    WILLIAM    HYDE, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Maine. 


Stereotyped  and  Printed  by 

THURSTON,  ILSLEY  &   CO. 

No.  68  Exchange  Street,  Portland. 


I        ft£C,  APftiasi 


PLEA  FOR  TliE  SABBATH. 

Lbtter  1.  Divine  authority  of  the  Sabbath ,,13 

"  2.  The  same  subject  continued 21 

"  3.  Physical  benefits  of  the  Sabbath 29 

"  4.  Intellectual  benefits  of  the  Sabbath 34 

"  5.  Moral  benefits  of  the  Sabbath , 41 

"  6.  Manner  of  lieeping  tlie  Sabbath 51 

"  7.  Same  subject  concludetl 57 

3i3act   SeconU. 

NOTHLVG  LOST  BY  KEEPING  THE  SABBATH. 

The  pray ing  ship 68 

The  traveller 72 

The  teamster 78 

Harvesting •  •S2 

Hay-making S4 

Incident  from  the  Life  of  Wesley 83 

No  Sabbath  in  our  business 90 

Facts  illustrating  the  results  of  Sabbath  breaking 92 

The  young  servant  girl 96 

Incidents  from  the  Life  of  Kilpin 97 

The  convict 99 

Abuse  of  the  Sabbath 101 

Death-bed  view  of  the  Sabbath ,, 102 

The  infidel's  Sabbath lOJ 

Cost  of  Sabbath  breaking 105 


1  CONTENTS. 

The  daughter 107 

The  pleasure  party Ill 

The  murderer's  cell 116 

The  launch 119 

The  Kennebec  dam , 119 

Scene  in  Nantucket 123 

The  lawyer  and  the  Sabbath 130 

The  Sabbath  breaker  reformed 133 

The  Sabbath  evening  at  home 136 

The  poor  fish  woman 137 

The  unknown. 139 

The  blessing  and  the  curse 140 

Hope  and  Try  Again 143 

Conclusion .....145 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 


The  Sabbath  is  among  the  oldest  institutions  on 
earth.  It  does  not,  however,  derive  its  value  from  its 
antiquity,  but  from  its  apropriateness  to  the  wants  of 
man.  Its  establishment  at  the  dawn  of  time,  when 
every  thing  was  fresh  from  the  divine  hand,  bespeaks 
its  value.  The  illustrious  example  of  Sabbath-keeping, 
set  by  God  himself,  when  he  had  finished  the  work  of 
creation,  argues  its  value .  The  blessing  he  pronounced 
upon  it,  when  resting  from  the  six  day's  work,  reveals 
its  value.  The  experience  and  testimony  of  Sabbath- 
keeping  men  and  nations,  demonstrates  its  worth.  All 
history,  sacred  and  profane,  shows  it  to  be  a  gift  from 
God,  and  a  blessing  to  man.  The  connection  which 
this  ancient  ordinance  has  with  each  dispensation  of 
God  to  man,  and  every  other  institution  of  religion, 
proves  its  worth,  and  the  fact,  that  the  Sabbath  was 
made  for  man. 

There  is  a  sublimity  in  the  conception  of  the  Deity 
in  repose,  for  moral  purposes ;  and  what  higher  illus- 
tration can  we  hate,  of  the  value  of  the  Sabbath,  than 

such  a  representation  of  the  Divine  interest  in  it.     How 
I" 


6  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY, 

could  the  law  of  action,  so  necessary  and  so  mighty  in 
the  Divine  nature,  be,  for  a  moment,  suspended,  but 
for  the  highest  of  ail  moral  purposes.  During  one 
whole  day,  an  infinite  miracle  was  passing  in  view  of  the 
universe ;  could  such  phenomena  have  appeared,  but 
for  a  purpose  commensurate  in  moral  grandeur.  God  did 
not  need  this  suspension  from  labor  for  his  own  benefit, 
or  repose.  As  easily  and  joyfully  might  he  have  con 
templated  his  works,  and  listened  to  the  anthem  of  the 
morning  stars,  without  resting  from  labor,  as  with  it. 
It  was  to  stamp  the  day  as  divine  —  to  mark  it  as  His 
own;  it  was  to  illustrate  its  value,  and  point  out  to 
man  his  duty.  This  act  fixes  upon  the  day  a  deep  and 
binding  sacredness.  It  labels  it — holy.  And  creation 
must  be  melted  down,  and  made  over  again,  before  the 
Sabbath  can  be  spared  from  it.  Every  principle  and 
spring  must  be  cast  and  set  afresh,  to  make  it  safe  to 
dispense  with  the  conservative  influences  of  the  Sab- 
bath. Man  and  the  laboring  animal  must  be  formed 
anew,  and  empowered  with  fresh  energies  and  re- 
sources, before  they  can  go  the  perpetual  round  of  labor 
without  Sabbath  rest.  The  universal  mind  must  be 
set  in  a  new  organism,  and  endowed  with  fresh  powers, 
before  the  friendly  influences  of  the  Sabbath  can  be 
foregone.  In  a  word,  the  moral  universe  must  be  re- 
constructed ;  the  machinery,  throughout,  calculated 
over  again  ;  each  power  and  purpose,  set  upon  a  new 
basis,  and  every  part,  impelled  by  a  new  impulse,  before 
the  Sabbath's  influence  —  the  great  mainspring  of  the 
whole  —  can  be  spared  from  it,  God  planted  in  his 
creation,  at  the  first,  the  necessity  for  the  Sabbath; 


INTROUUCTORT    KSSST.  4 

a)ul  SO  lonij;  as  the  present  system  stands^  the  Saboatb. 
will  be  essential  to  it,  and  must  remain.     Abolish  it, 

and,  in  the  words  of  Milton,. 

"  Earth  feels  tlie  wound ;  and  Nature  from  lier  seat, 

Sighing  through  all  her  works,  gives  signs  of  woe, 

Thai  all  i  ■■  lost/' 

Abolish  the  Ssjbbatb^and  the  aaimal  natare  langaisheSy 

the  general  mind  droops,  and  piety  perishes  from  the 

earth. 

The  bee,  taught  by  instinct,  constructs  its  cells,  so 
as  to  hold  the  greatest  amount  of  treasure,  with  the 
greatest  degree  of  safety.  And  the  one  is  found  to  be 
consistent  with  the  other;  the  greatest  capacity,  with 
the  greatest  safety,  or  strength.  So  that  the  geometry 
of  instinct,  here,  laughs- at  man's  highest  mathematical 
ingenuity.  Thus  in  the  moral  world.  The  great 
Author  of  instinct,  and  all  things,  has  so  balanced  and* 
tempered  the  resources  and  moral  elements  in  man, 
that  the  highest  amount  of  effort  and  moral  good,  is 
gained  only  by  suspension  from  labor,  with  moral  re- 
freshment, one  seventh  part  of  the  time.  And  here, 
too,  the  arithmetic  of  morals  laughs  at  the  vain  calcu- 
lations of  mercenary  men. 

But  man  is  angel  as  well  as  animal.  And  the 
Sabbath  is  essential  to  the  immortal,  as  well  as  the 
mortal.  So  that  his  interests  for  both  worlds,  suffer 
vitally,  from  a  desecration  of  this  day.  And  expe- 
rience has  generally  proved  that  an  attempt  to  rob 
God  of  his  day,  is,  in  effect,  a  robbery  committed  upon 
ourselves.  God  will  not  prosper  sabbatb-gotten  gain'. 
He  will  not  sanctron,  by  the  smile  of  hi&  providence, 
the  violations  of  his  law. 


f^  IN-TROnrCTORY    ESSAY. 

And  tJie  mind  —  the  part  made  in  his  own  imago  — 
must  follow  the  example  of  its  great  prototype, 
the  Divine  Mind,  while  resting  from  the  work  of 
creation,  on  the  seventh  day,  or  its  powers  can  never 
ripen  into  that  perfection  for  which  they  were  formed. 
An  incessant  tasking  of  the  intellect  without  Sabbath 
relaxation,  tends  to  enfeeble  and  derange  its  powers. 
The  highest  degree  of  mental  expansion  can  never  be 
reached,  but  by  observing  the  natural  and  moral  laws 
of  God. 

If  God  then  by  his  word,  and  his  providence,  and 
example  too,  has  shown  such  marks  of  respect  and 
regard  for  this  institution,  how  ought  man  to  treat  it  ? 
man,  for  whom  it  was  made.  What  though  the  rigor 
of  its  ritual  observance — needed  in  the  darker  ages  of 
the  world — has  been  somewhat  abated  !  Has  its  author- 
ity and  force,  as  a  part  of  the  moral  law,  been  relaxed  ? 
No  !  The  Sabbath  is  a  life-artery,  running  through 
every  part  of  the  moral  system.  It  is  incorporated  into 
all  the  laws,  designed  either  for  Israel,  or  for  man. 
Abolishing  one  of  God's  laws,  then,  does  not  annul 
that  statute  which  is  common  to  all  his  laws.  If 
several  lines  cross  each  other  at  a  single  point,  the 
obliterating  of  one  of  those  lines,  or  all  but  one, 
does  not  obliterate  the  point  in  those  lines  common  to 
each,  and  where  each  is  the  same.  So  when  the  national 
and  ritual  laws  of  Israel  fell,  each  embodying  the  Sab- 
bath, the  Sabbath  did  not  fall.  It  stood  on  a  higher 
JUid  more  permanent  basis.  It  belonged  to  the  moral 
law,  embracing  a  system  of  principles  that  were  de- 
signed for  all   men,  and  destined  to  last  through  all 


INTRODUCTORY    F.SSAY.  9 

time.  And  the  idea  that  the  distinction  which  God 
has  made  in  the  days  of  the  week,  may  be  destroyed 
by  elevating  the  week  to  an  equality  with  the  Sabbath^ 
is,  if  anything  good,  an  improvement  upon  divine 
wisdom.  It  is  a  philosophy  or  wisdom,  whose  work 
will  never  be  done,  till  all  God's  laws  are  revised,  ot 
effaced  from  the  moral  system.  It  is  easy,  hoAvever, 
to  destroy  this  distinction,  not  by  elevating  the  week  to 
an  equality  with  the  Sabbath,  but  by  lowering  the 
Sabbath  to  a  level  with  the  week.  It  is  like  certain 
false  theories  of  perfection,  which,  instead  of  elevating 
the  world  to  the  high  standard  of  moral  attainment  and 
purity  set  forth  in  the  Gospel,  bring  that  standard  down, 
to  a  level  with  common  attainments ;  and  when  this  ig 
done,  even  ordinary  attainments  sink  usually  to  the 
level  of  indifference.  So  the  attempted  elevation  of 
the  six  days  of  the  week,  to  a  level  with  the  seventh 
will  be,  in  the  result,  an  ascending  downward :  for 
instead  of  elevating  the  week,  the  Sabbath  will  be 
sunk  to  its  level.  And  this  is  not  all  >  for  the  sinking 
of  the  Sabbath,  will  sink  the  week  ;  so  that  a  loss  of 
this  heaven-ordained  distinction,  would  give  us  one 
general  degraded  monotony  of  viongrel  time  !  God 
made  this  distinction ;  and  man  cannot  destroy  it, 
without  destroying  the  most  precious  of  his  works. 
For  the  Sabbath  is  as  valuable  as  earth ;  it  is  as  valuable 
as  heaven  ;  it  is  as  valuable  as  religion;  it  is  as  valuable 
as  the  blessings  which  itself  brings.  Efface  it  from 
the  earth,  and  immorality  abounds.  Efface  it  from  the 
earth,  and  ignorance  sleeps  upon  its  surface ;  revolution, 
tyrann}'    or  anarchy,  in  turn,  would  sweep  over  the 


10-  INTROPrrCTOUY    ESSAT. 

world  The  sanctuary  would  fall  ;  the  Holy  Bible  be 
closed  ;  every  moral  influence  and  avenue  sealed  ;  and 
religion  with  its  precious  ordinances  and  hopes  would 
take  their  farewell  oi  man.  Is  it  not  treason,  then, 
against  the  divine  government,  and  against  human 
government,  to  trample  the  Sabbath  in  the  dust  ?  Is 
it  not  a  war  waged  upon  the  great  interests  of  God  on 
earth,  and  the  very  dearest  rights  and  interests  of  man  ? 
It  would  be  a  sad  business  for  man,  had  he  the  power, 
to  set  himself  to  the  work  of  destroying  God's  natural 
creation;  the  six  day's  work  of  his  hand.  But  would 
it  not  be  a  far  worse  work,  for  him  to  destroy  the  holy 
Sabbath,  God's  seventh  day's  work  ?  Give  man  the 
power,  and  let  him  go  to  the  work  of  destroying  God's 
natural  creation.  Let  him  dry  up  the  rivers  ;  blot  out 
the  seas  ;  beat  down  the  mountains ;  blow  out  the  sun  ; 
and  quench  the  thousand  lights  that  twinkle  over 
heaven ;  what  a  business  this  !  And  who  would  not 
remonstrate  against  such  a  work  of  destruction, 
wrought  upon  the  fair  creation  of  God.  And  yet  the 
Sabbath,  though  not  measured  by  revolutions  of  the 
earth  or  heavenly  bodies,  as  were  days,  and  months, 
and  years,  when  God's  fiat  was  put  upon  finished 
time  ;  still  it  had  a  higher  origin  ;  it  liad  for  its  creation 
a  moral  act ;  more  important,  immeasurably,  than  the 
external  revolutions  of  planets  and  suns.  It  was  a 
division  struck  by  the  hand  of  Deity.  And  he  that 
should  destroy  the  holy  Sabbath,  marked  by  the  first 
and  last  change  of  Deity  from  labor  to  rest,  would  do 
a  far  worse  work,  than  he  who  should  destro}'-  the 
visible  creation  of  God.     For  the  seventh  day  blesses 


I.NTUODUCTOIIY    i:SSAY.  H 

the  six.  Tear  from  time  the  Sabbath,  and  time  had 
better  end.  Existence  would  be  a  curse  to  man. 
Crqation's  ends  would  remain  unanswered.  Show  me 
an  interest  on  earth,  either  divine  or  human,  "that 
could  long  survive  the  wreck  of  the  Sabbath.  The 
Sabbath  is  the  key-stone  in  the  arch  of  Christian 
ordinances  ;  take  it  from  among  them,  and  they  all 
fall.  ]n  another  point  of  view,  it  is  a  bow  of  blessings 
and  of  promise.  But,  unlike  the  natural  bow,  it 
precedes,  rather  than  follows,  the  diffusion  of  blessings 
upon  the  earth.  It  is  hung  high  in  the  moral  heavens  ; 
betokening  God"s  purposes  of  love  to  men.  He  has 
set  this  bow  above  the  clouds,  to  bind  heaven  and 
earth  together,  in  beauty,  and  moral  harmony.  In 
fine,  it  is  a  standard,  which,  if  the  host  of  God  desert, 
tlie  ark  of  God  is  gone.  And  it  is  left  for  the  church 
to  decide  whether  this  day  of  blessings  shall  stand 
or  fall.  If  christians  do  not  honor  it,  who  will? 
If  they  undervalue,  and  desecrate  it,  who  will  not  ? 
Let  the  Sabbath  have  its  place  in  the  moral  sys- 
tem. Let  it  become  the  inclined  plane,  along  the 
ascent  of  which,  the  earth  shall  be  elevated  from  its 
moral  corruptions,  and  fall  to  the  millenial  state. 
And  who  will  dare  lend  his  influence  to  tear  up  this 
plane,  so  that  the  trains  of  influence  and  engines  of 
moral  power  shall  run  at  random,  or  be  dashed  in 
pieces.  The  Sabbath  is  destroyed  by  littles.  Appar- 
ently trivial  violations,  growing  into  a  habit,  weaken 
the  sanctions,  and  destroy  the  sacredness  of  that  day. 
Here  stands  a  pillar,  supporting  an  immense  roof  or 
dome.     It   is   cut,   and   hacked,  and   cliiped,   till  its 


12  INTKODUCyORY    ESSAV 

beauty  and  strength  are  gone.  At  length  it  bends,  the 
dome  settles,  and  thousands  are  buried  in  the  ruins. 
And  who  will  not  say  that  each  act  of  whittling  and 
gashing  that  stately  pillar,  upon  which  so  much  rested, 
was  a  great  evil.  But  by  a  similar  process,  the  Sab- 
bath is  destroyed.  Every  little  violation  is  like  the 
cutting  of  that  pillar.  It  helps  to  bring  this  institution 
into  reproach.  One  such  act,  tempts  another  to  do  the 
same,  till  the  beauty  and  strength  of  this  pillar  oi 
our  institutions  are  gone  and  every  thing  luvely  and 
of  good  report,  sinks  into  ruin. 


A 

MOTHER'S 
PLEA  FOR  THE  SABBATH: 


PART    FlPwST. 

LETTERS    FROM    A    MOTHER   TO    AN    ABSENT    SOK. 

LETTER       I. 

DIVINE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


My  Dear  Son:  —  The  most  painful  circum- 
stance attending  the  early  dispersion  of  our 
household  band,  is  the  impossibility  of  my  im- 
parting instruction  on  topics  most  nearly  con- 
nected with  your  present  and  future  welfare. 
As  I  endeavor  to  penetrate  futurity,  and  picture 
your  coming  destiny,  my  bosom  swells  with 
anxious  thoughts.  Your  habits  and  character 
are  now  forming ;  and  as  you  now  sow,  you  will 
hereafter  reap.  While  you  were  with  me,  I 
endeavored  to  impress  upon  your   young  mind 


14  DIVINE    AUTHOIllTV 

the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  and  I  trust,  though 
years  have  since  passed,  the  impressions  then 
made  are  not  wholly  obliterated.  But  you  were 
then  too  young  to  understand  the  reasons  for 
devoting  one  day  in  seven  to  holy  rest,  or  to 
feel  the  preciousness  of  this  gift  of  Heaven  to 
erring,  sinful  man.  Feeling  assured,  as  I  do, 
that  on  the  manner  in  which  the  Sabbath  is  kept, 
the  whole  character  depends ;  that  it  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  all  that  is  pure  and  lovely,  and 
truly  noble  in  man,  I  cannot  be  content  with 
the  instruction  you  have  already  received  on  this 
all-important  topic.  Temptations  to  encroach 
on  its  holy  repose  will  continually  assail  you; 
and  objections  to  its  sacred  obligations  will  be 
urged  by  the  enemies  of  our  faith,  and  even  by 
some  of  its  professed  friends.  You  will  see  it 
desecrated  by  those  who  profess  even  to  love  the 
Savior ;  and  treated  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  in- 
difference whether  they  even  remembered  the 
Sabbath  day.  To  stem  this  fearful  tide,  which 
threatens  to  sweep  away  what  has  been  in  all 
ages  the  safeguard  of  the  true  religion  —  its  pre- 
server alike  against  the  influence  of  ancient 
heathenism  and  modern  infidelity,  you  will  need 
to  have  the  high  authority  and  inestimable  value 


OF    THE  SABnATII.  15 

of  the  Sabbath,  deeply  engraven  on  your  heart. 
This  1  shall  endeavor  briefly  to  do  in  a  series  of 
letters,  and  likewise  show  what  is  included  in 
keeping  it  holy.  At  the  close  I  shall  add  a 
copious  selection  of  facts  tending  to  prove  that 
the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man ;  given  for  his 
best  good  in  this  life,  as  well  as  a  season  of 
preparation  for  eternity  —  and  that  the  blessing 
of  divine  Providence  specially  favors  those  who 
conscientiously  keep  it  holy. 

The  keeping  one  day  in  seven  holy,  is  gener- 
ally regarded  as  merely  a  duty ;  as  a  penalty,  I 
had  almost  said,  inflicted  for  our  forgetfulness  of 
the  things  of  eternity.  A  duty  it  certainly  is. 
But  if  we  recur  for  a  moment  to  the  circum- 
stances attending  its  first  announcement,  we 
shall  feel  that  it  is  in  truth  a  precious  boon.— 
It  was  given  to  man  in  Paradise,  while  he  was 
yet  holy,  and  enforced  by  the  example  of  the 
God  of  purity.  Did  he  need  rest?  His  own 
word  declares  that  he  fainteth  not,  neither  is 
weary ;  nor  was  it  necessary  for  him  to  employ 
that  space  of  time  for  the  work  of  creation. — 
He  could  have  spoken  it  into  existence,  swift  as 
our  fancy  can  frame  a  thought  or  call  up  an 
image  before   the  mind ;  but  for  our  sakes  he 


16 


DIVINE  AUTHORITY 


condescended  thus  to  perform  the  work,  that  he 
might  set  an  example  which  should  be  binding 
on  man  in  all  ages,  under  all  circumstances.— 
It  was  given  to  man  as  man,  as  something  essen- 
tial to  his  well  being,  and  without  which  the 
end  of  his  creation  would  not  have  been  an- 
swered. Before  the  tree  of  knowledge  was  pro- 
hibited, before  even  the  sweet  charities  of  do- 
mestic life  were  his  —  even  then  was  the  day  of 
holy  rest  bestowed.  There  was  no  command. — 
It  was  then  unnecessary.  While  God  yet 
walked  with  man,  and  the  heart  of  man  rose 
spontaneously  in  grateful  adoration,  it  was 
enough  for  him  to  know  that  his  Creator  had 
blessed  and  hallowed  that  day  as  a  season  of 
holy  rest.  He  needed  only  a  permission  to  turn 
his  thoughts  to  themes  more  delightful  than  even 
contemplating  the  virgin  earth,  fresh  from  the 
hand  of  the  great  Former,  and  resplendent  in 
yet  unsullied  beauty.  He  knew  not  then  the 
weariness  of  an  exhausted,  dying  body.  He 
trod  the  earth  with  the  firmness  of  immortal 
vigor ;  yet  even  then,  after  six  days  of  toil — light, 
indeed,  in  comparison  with  ours — for  it  was 
not  till  after  the  fall  that  man  ate  his  bread  in 
the  sweat  of  his  brow, — one  day  was  to  be  devo- 


OF  THE  SABBATH.  17 

ted  to  sacred  repose,  and  religious  worship. 
Was  not  then,  the  Sabbath  made  for  man.  To 
the  Creator,  that  periodical  homage  could  not  be 
necessary.  If  no  voice  of  grateful  adoration 
iiad  ascended  from  this  little  dim  speck  in  the 
creation,  that  single  note  could  hardly  have  been 
missed  amidst  the  full  choir  of  seraphim  and 
archangels,  and  when  all  the  morning  stars  sang 
together.     For  the  oood  of   man  alone  was  it 

to  o 

then  bestowed,  not  enjoined  as  a  penalty,  not 
required  as  a  painful  sacrifice,  for  the  image  of 
the  Almighty  was  yet  undimmed  by  sin,  and 
man  was  the  favored,  obedient  child  of  Heaven. 
If  it  was  then  a  blessing  to  man,  shall  we  lightly 
esteem  this  high  privilege?  With  bodies  on 
which  sin  has  entailed  disease,  infirmity  and 
weakness,  needing  rest  after  even  a  few  hours 
of  toil,  to  restore  our  exhausted  nature,  and 
longing  for  it  as  for  our  necessary  food,  methinks 
we  should  wait  only  a  permission  from  him  who 
enjoined  severe  labor  as  a  penalty  of  transgress- 
ion, to  enjoy  repose  after  six  days  of  toil.  And 
with  hearts  sullied  by  the  mournful  heritage  of 
sin,  chained  down  to  earth-born  cares,  and  for- 
getting in  the  flitting  pageantry  of  this  life,  our 
immortal  destiny  ;  thrice  welcome  to  us  should 
2* 


18  DIVINK    AITTHORITY 

be  the  season  when  we  may  forget  our  toils  and 
cares,  and  turning  our  thoughts  heaven-ward, 
commune  with  him  who  still  condescends  to 
meet  the  penitent  on  that  blessed  day.  It  should 
almost  seem  that  our  Creator  thought  these 
motives  would  be  sufficient  to  ensure  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath ;  that  man  would  cherish  as 
his  most  precious  heritage,  this  only  remaining 
vestige  of  the  holiness  and  happiness  of  Paradise, 
and  that  therefore  a  period  of  many  hundred 
years  elapsed  before  we  have  any  record  of  the 
giving  of  a  positive  command. 

That  the  Sabbath  was  remembered  as  a  day 
of  holy  rest,  commemorating  the  glory  of  God  in 
the  works  of  creation,  wherever  he  was  worship- 
ped, there  can  be  no  doubt.  In  the  history  of 
Noah,  we  have  an  intimation  of  it  not  to  be 
mistaken.  You  remember  the  simple  narrative. 
When  Noah  had  once  sent  out  the  dove  who 
returned  with  no  emblem  of  peace  to  the  captives, 
why  did  he  wait  seven  days  before  sending  her 
again  to  explore  for  him  the  waste  of  waters? 
Why,  but  because  he  considered  it  a  solemn 
appeal  to  Heaven  for  direction  ;  and  for  such  an 
appeal,  what  time  so  appropriate  as  the  Sabbath? 
And    when    the    winged    messenger    at   length 


OF    THE    SABBATH.  19 

returned  with  an  olive  leaf,  we  may  well  imagine 
the  delight  with  which  that  token  of  peace  and 
safety  must  have  been  viewed.  The  waters 
were  indeed  abated,  and  vegetation  was  spring- 
ing forth  anew  in  all  its  loveliness,  and  the  eyes 
which  had  so  long  viewed,  through  the  window 
of  their  floating  prison  but  one  shoreless  ocean, 
must  have  longed  to  look  once  more  on  the 
green  earth.  Still  the  Patriarch  stayed  yet 
other  seven  days  before  again  sending  out  the 
dove,  thus  giving  the  most  convincing  proof  of 
the  sacredness  attached  to  that  day.  But  the 
knowledge  and  worship  of  Jehovah  were  soon 
lost  and  buried  amidst  the  multiplied  forms  of 
idolatry,  except  in  the  family  of  Abraham. 
There,  no  doubt,  the  Sabbath  was  still  regarded, 
and  through  the  long  season  of  oppression ,  in 
Egypt,  when  religious  knowledge  must  have  been 
reduced  to  the  lowest  ebb,  still  the  memory  of 
it  was  preserved.  Read  again  the  history  of  the 
descent  of  the  manna,  in  Exodus,  and  you  will 
find  the  Sabbath  referred  to,  as  a  day  whose 
design  was  well  known.  A  complaint  was  made 
to  Moses  on  the  sixth  day,  that  the  people  were 
gathering  twice  the  usual  quantity,  to  which  he 
replied,  "To-morrow  is  the   rest   of  the   holy 


20  DTVTNE    AUTHORITY 

Sabbath  of  the  Lord  your  God."  There  is  no 
allusion  to  a  new  institution ;  the  law  of  the  ten 
commandments  had  not  been  given,  yet  he 
speaks  of  the  holy  Sabbath  as  a  season  with 
which  they  were  familiar.  Still, ^though  it  was 
not  wholly  forgotten ;  though  the  miseries  they 
endured  in  Egypt  had  not  forced  them  wholly 
to  relinquish  this  precious  heritage ;  we  may 
suppose  great  ignorance  prevailed  as  to  its  real 
design,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  to  be 
observed.  They  needed  instruction,  and  more 
than  this,  they  needed  the  high  and  holy  sanc- 
tion of  a  positive  command,  to  induce  them  to 
observe  it  as  they  ought.  In  what  manner  that 
command  was  given  and  its  demands  upon  us 
for  obedience,  shall  be  the  subject  of  my  next 
letter. 

And  here,  my  son,  I  would  pause  for  a  mo- 
ment to  remind  you  of  the  patience  and  long 
suffering  of  our  heavenly  Father  in  promulgat- 
ing that  command.  The  Sabbath  which  was 
given  to  man  in  Paradise^  as  Heaven's  choicest 
gift,  was  mercifully  continued  to  him  after  the 
fall.  On  that  day  especially  would  the  just  and 
holy  God  meet  man  again  as  a  friend,  and  hold 
communion  with  the   penitent  heart.     Yet,  al- 


OF    THE    SABBATH.  21 

most  the  whole  world  disregarded  and  threw  it 
from  them  as  a  worthless  thing ;  and  even 
among  the  descendants  of  Abraham,  the  friend 
of  God,  very  few  loved  the  Sabbath.  Yet  he 
would  not  take  it  from  them.  He  first  shows 
his  own  regard  for  it ;  honoring  it  by  a  threefold 
miracle,  and  then,  with  the  most  imposing  sol- 
emnity, promulgates  a  command  to  set  apart 
that  day  as  holy ;  a  command,  not  for  that  na- 
tion alone,  but  binding  upon  all  people  to  the 
end  of  time.  Think  on  these  things,  my  son, 
value  as  your  most  precious  heritage  this  type 
of  eternal  rest ;  and  that  the  God  of  the  Sab- 
bath may  so  write  his  law  in  your  heart  that  you 
may  remember  to  keep  it  holy,  is  the  prayer  of 
your  affectionate  mother. 


LETTER    II. 

My  Dear  Son:  —  Before  proceeding  any  far- 
ther, I  wish  you  to  read  again,  with  deep  attention, 
the  10th  and  SOth  chapters  of  Exodus,  and  if  you 
are  not  impressed  with  deep  reverence  of  com- 


22  DIVIxXE    AUTIIORITY 

mands  given  with  such  solemnity,  words  of  mine 
will  avail  nothing.  There  you  will  find  it  re- 
corded, that  the  Lord  descended  upon  Mount 
Sinai,  with  thunderings  and  lightnings  and  the 
voice  of  a  trumpet,  exceeding  loud,  so  that  all 
the  people  of  the  camp  trembled.  One  man  alone 
remained  fearless  and  unmoved.  Moses,  calmly 
relying  upon  the  rectitude  of  his  purposes,  went 
up  to  the  mount,  though  it  was  enveloped  in 
smoke,  because  the  Lord  had  descended  upon 
it  in  fire.  He  spoke,  and  the  Lord  answered 
him  by  a  voice,  and  audibly  proclaimed  that 
holy  law  which  was  to  be  thenceforward  the  rule 
of  man's  obedience.  Ten  commands  were  given 
at  this  time,  and  among  them  we  find  the  follow- 
ing: "Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it 
holy;  six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy 
work,  but  the  seventh  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
thy  God,  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work :  thou 
nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant, 
nor  thy  maid-servant,  thy  cattle,  nor  the  stranger 
that  is  within  thy  gates.  For  in  six  days  the 
Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea  and  all  that 
in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day ;  where- 
fore the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day  and  hal- 
lowed it." 


or    THE    SABBATH.  23 

It  not  only  holds  an  equal  place  among  the 
other  commandments,  but  it  is  guarded  with  a 
special  care;  and  there  is  a  peculiar  minuteness 
in  the  details  prescribing  the  portion  of  time  to 
be  kept  holy — those  who  were  to  rest  on  that 
day,  and  the  reasons  of  the  command.  That 
law  has  never  been  annulled :  it  is  as  binding 
upon  us  as  the  command,  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill." 
It  was  given  before  the  ceremonial  law,  was 
entirely  distinct  from  it,  and  is  the  law  to  which 
our  Savior  refers  when  he  says,  "  I  came  not  to 
destroy  the  law  but  to  fulfil ;  and  whosoever  shall 
break  one  of  the  least  of  these  commands,  and 
teach  men  so,  the  same  shall  be  called  least  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

The  perpetuity  of  the  Sabbath  is  clearly  taught 
in  Isa.  56 :  6,  8,  "  Every  one  that  keepeth  the 
Sabbath  from  polluting  it,  and  taketh  hold  of  my 
covenant ;  even  them  will  I  bring  to  my  holy 
mountain,  and  make  them  joyful  in  my  house  of 
prayer — for  my  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of 
prayer  for  all  people."  You  perceive  from  this, 
that  in  the  latter  day,  when  the  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  even  then 
it  will  be  a  duty  to  keep  the  Sabbath  from  pol- 
luting it.      During   the   whole   of  the   Mosaic 


24  DIVINE    AI/THORITY 

dispensation  it  was  regarded  with  deep  venera- 
tion. Read  the  Psalms,  where  it  is  said,  "a 
day  in  thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thousand." 
Read  the  longing  desires  there  expressed  for  the 
public  worship  of  Jehovah,  if  you  would  learn 
to  value  it.  And  by  the  inspired  prophets,  no 
duty  is  more  strictly  enjoined,  than  its  observ- 
ance,— no  sin  threatened  with  more  awful 
punishment  than  its  neglect.  All  this  is  ac- 
knowledged by  many  who  yet  maintain  that  under 
the  gospel  it  is  abrogated.  But  I  trust  a  few 
words  will  suffice  to  show  the  futility  of  this 
objection.  I  have  already  alluded  to  our  Sa- 
vior's declaration  respecting  the  law,  meaning 
the  law  of  the  ten  commandments,  of  which  the 
fourth  is  certainly  one.  In  his  practice,  he 
honored  the  Sabbath  day.  He  went  into  the 
synagogue,  as  his  custom  was,  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  and  repeatedly,  he  is  said  to  have  taught 
the  people  on  that  day.  It  is  true,  he  removed 
some  of  the  restrictions,  but  they  had  been 
imposed  by  the  Jewish  doctors  of  the  law,  and 
formed  no  part  of  the  original  command.  We 
see  it  coming  from  his  hand  in  its  original  sim- 
plicity and  beauty,  as  a  precious  gift  bestowed, 
not  only  to  glorify  God,  but  to  promote  the 


OF    THE    SABUATII.  %5 

holiness  and  the  highest  happiness  of  man. 
Perfectly  consistent  with  this  original  design  of 
the  institution,  was  his  exertion  of  miraculous 
power  to  relieve  the  distressed ;  showing  his 
glory  and  manifesting  his  divine  mission.  If 
the  Sabbath  was  soon  to  pass  away,  why  did  he 
manifest  such  anxiety  to  rescue  it  from  abuse  ? 
No  such  care  is  shown  for  the  stated  sacrifices, 
though  doubtless  abuses  had  crept  into  these 
also ;  but  they  were  soon  to  cease,  therefore  he 
is  silent  respecting  them.  Not  so  with  the  Sab- 
bath. That  was  a  precious  boon ;  it  was  to 
preserve  the  memory  and  the  worship  of  the  true 
God ;  on  that  day,  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation 
through  an  incarnate,  crucified  Savior,  were  to  be 
proclaimed  to  the  end  of  time.  It  was  to  be  a 
day  of  giving  good  gifts  to  men,  and  therefore  it 
must  be  preserved  inviolate ;  cleansed  from 
the  rubbish  of  error,and  held  up  for  grateful 
adoration,  as  being  indeed  made  for  man ;  for  man 
in  his  highest,  noblest  capacity,  as  an  account- 
able, immortal  being,  placed  here  to  prepare 
for  a  state  of  endless  blessedness.  One  expres- 
sion of  Christ,  I  wish  you  particularly  to  notice, 
as  sufficient  to  answer  every  objection  against 
the  Christian  Sabbath.  When  speaking  of  the 
3 


26  DIVINE    AUTHORITY 

destruction  of  Jerusalem,  he  says,  "pray  ye  that 
your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter,  neither  on  the 
Sabbath  day,''  thus  clearly  intimating  that  the 
Sabbath  would  remain  when  the  Jewish  institu- 
tions were  done  away. 

With  regard  to  the  change  from  the  last  to 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  but  one  word  will  be 
necessary.  He  who  was  Lord  of  the  Sabbath 
had  surely  a  right  to  make  such  a  change,  nor 
did  it  at  all  alter  the  spirit  of  the  institution. 
The  proportion  of  time  was  the  important  point ; 
and  as  the  original  Sabbath  commemorated  the 
work  of  creation,  surely  the  gospel  dispensation 
would  lose  much  of  its  glory,  if  our  Sabbath  did 
not  commemorate  that  far  more  glorious  work, 
the  redemption  of  man,  and  his  new  creation 
through  a  crucified  and  risen  Redeemer. 

I  hardly  need  refer  you  to  the  New  Testament 
for  proof  that  the  first  day  of  the  week,  was  from 
the  time  of  our  Lord's  resurrection,  regarded  as 
holy  time.  Repeatedly  is  it  mentioned  that  on 
the  first  day  of  the  week  the  disciples  were 
assembled.  The  Savior  himself  honored  the 
day  by  then  appearing  to  his  disciples — the 
deeply  interesting  interview  on  the  way  to 
Emmaus,  when  he  opened  to  them  the  scriptures 


OF    THE    SABBATH.  27- 

till  their  hearts  burned  within  them,  occurred 
on  that  day.  And  the  day  of  Pentecost,  which 
learned  men  have  shown,  occurred  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  set  the  seal  of  heaven  upon  its 
sacredness;  then  the  Holy  Spirit  descended, 
and  the  last  gift  promised  by  the  Redeemer  was 
bestowed  upon  man.  Through  the  writings  of 
the  Apostles,  you  will  find  frequent  mention  of 
the  Lord's  day,  and  where  the  canon  of  the 
Scripture  was  about  to  be  closed  and  sealed  up 
forever,  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  now  the 
sole  survivor  of  that  little  band,  gave  his  dying 
testimony  to  the  blessedness  of  that  sacred 
season,  "I  was  in  the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  day." 
Thus,  my  dear  son,  I  have  rapidly  sketched  the 
history  of  this  sacred  institution  from  the  creation 
to  the  close  of  the  holy  volume.  At  every  step 
it  is  invested  with  new  sacredness,  and  higher 
claims  unon  our  love  and  reverence.  Since 
that  period,  Christians  in  all  ages  have  united  in 
welcoming  and  hallowing  the  day  of  holy  rest, 
and  many  a  humble  believer  has  echoed  the 
words  of  the  aged  apostle,  "I  was  in  the  spirit 
on  the  Lord's  day."  Though  they  have  not 
seen  the  heavens  opened,  nor  beheld  the  glitter- 
ing crowns  cast  before  the  throne  of  him  who. 


28  DIVINE    AUTHORITY 

on  that  glad  day,  triumphed  over  death  and  the 
grave ;  thoug'h  the  alleluias  of  the  redeemed  have 
not  rung  on  their  ears,  yet  blessings,  such  as 
God  alone  can  give,  have  descended  upon  their 
souls. 

If  under  the  comparatively  dark  and  imperfect 
dispensation  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  Psalmist 
could  say,  "  This  is  the  day  the  Lord  hath  made, 
we  will  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  it,"  with  what 
emotions  of  holy  joy  and  fervent  gratitude, 
should  we  hail  the  dawn  of  this  sacred  season. 
To  them  it  merely  commemorated  creation  and 
the  deliverance  of  Israel — wonderful  indeed,  but 
only  a  dim  shadow  of  the  redemption  which  we 
celebrate.  But  there  are  other  views  of  this 
subject  which  should  deepen  our  gratitude  for 
this  inestimable  gift.  Its  perfect  adaptation  to 
the  physical,  intellectual  and  moral  nature  and 
wants  of  man,  is  worthy  of  attentive  consideration. 
But  these  themes  must  be  deferred  to  another 
letter.  In  the  meantime,  I  request  your  careful 
attention  to  the  passages  of  Scripture  to  which 
I  have  specially  referred,  with  prayer  to  God 
that  he  would  enlighten  your  understanding,  and 
incline  your  heart  to  keep  his  commandments. 


OF    THE    SABBATH.  29 

LETTER    III. 

PHYSICAL    BENEFITS    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

My  Dear  Son  :  —  I  trust  the  few  hints  which 
I  have  given  are  sufficient  to  convince  you  of  the 
sacred  obligation  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day. 
But  I  love,  when  that  blessed  day  dawns  upon 
me,  to  think  of  it  as  my  Father's  day,  and  as  a 
token  of  love  from  him.  In  this  light  I  would 
fain  have  you  regard  it ;  and  if  you  ever  find 
yourself  feeling  it  to  be  a  weariness,  and  wishing 
its  hallowed  hours  were  ended — remember  you  are 
despising  your  mother's  choicest  treasure.  You 
may  perhaps  recollect  the  time  when  sorrow 
pressed  heavily  upon  us,  and  our  hearts  were  sad 
while  looking  forward  to  a  speedy  separation. 
Then  every  hour  of  the  week  was  occupied  by 
toils  and  cares — my  way  was  dark  and  thorny, 
but  I  dared  not  pause  to  rest ;  onward,  onward  I 
was  obliged  to  press,  though  pale  and  weary,  and 
my  heart  was  faint  within  me.  Then,  how 
sweet,  how  precious  was  the  Sabbath,  with  its 
holy  rest  and  peace — its  permission  to  forget  my 
toils  and  cares,  and  plans  for  the  present  wants, 
and  future  welfare  of  my  helpless  little  ones. 
3* 


30  PHYSICAL    BENEFITS 

How  sweet  to  turn  my  thoughts  from  this  world 
of  weariness  and  pain  to  that  rest  which  remain- 
<Eth — of  which  those  sacred  hours  were  but  the 
type  and  emblem  ;  and  when  I  could  mingle  my 
prayers  and  praises  with  God's  people  in  public 
worship,  I  realized  the  fulfilment  of  that  blessing, 
"  The  Lord  hear  thee  in  the  day  of  trouble ;  the 
name  of  the  God  of  Jacob  defend  thee  ;  send 
thee  help  from  the  sanctuary,  and  strengthen 
thee  out  of  Zion." 

But  it  is  not  merely  to  the  children  of  sorrow, 
that  the  Sabbath  is  a  blessing,  though  others, 
perhaps,  cannot  know  all  its  value.  Man  is  so 
framed,  that  this  period  of  repose  from  ordinary 
duties  is  as  necessary  for  him  as  his  daily  food. 
Our  physical  organization  is  such,  that  long 
continued  exertion,  even  of  a  part  of  the  body, 
will  weaken  the  energies  of  that  part  and  finally 
destroy  them  altogether.  The  Hindoo  devotee^ 
who  keeps  his  arms  raised  constantly  above  his 
head,  for  years,  finally  loses  all  power  over  them  ; 
they  become  shrunk  and  withered,  and  \\i  fact 
dead,  while  attached  to  a  living  body,  simply 
because  no  period  of  relaxation  was  given  to  the 
muscles.  This,  it  is  true,  is  an  extreme  case, 
but  labor  without  repose,  produces  effects  similar 


or  Tiin  sARBATir.  3| 

in  kind,  thoujxh  not  equal  in  degree,  "  Night  is 
the  time  for  rest,"  but  it  does  not  afford  all  the 
rest  required  by  our  bodies,  exhausted  by  days  of 
successive  toil.  The  period  is  so  short,  that  after 
intense  exertion,  it  but  serves  to  relax  the  system 
enough  to  make  us  conscious  of  weariness.  But 
the  Sabbath  does  more.  It  takes  the  weary  body 
just  where  slumber  left  it,  and  restores  its  vigor 
and  tone,  not  merely  by  rest,  but  by  sympathy 
with  the  mind,  in  its  peaceful  thoughts  and  occu- 
pations during  the  day.  This  is  not  mere  theory. 
Facts  and  investigations  show  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  doubt,  that  more  physical  labor  is 
performed  by  those  who  rest  on  the  Lord's  day, 
than  by  those  who  disregard  it.  I  say  nothing 
now  of  its  intellectual  or  moral  influences.  I 
take  the  lowest  view  of  its  benefits,  and  ]. 
repeat  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  such 
is  the  nature  of  man,  that  he  will  accomplish 
more  labor  if  he  does  all  his  work  in  six  days, 
and  rests  the  seventh,  according  to  the  com- 
mandment. 

Is  it  not  strange  my  son,  that  men  should 
fancy  themselves  wiser  than  their  Creator?  —  that 
they  should  imagine  they  better  understand  their 
own   frames    and    their   own    necessities,   than 


32  PHYSICAL    BENEFITS 

He  who  is  the  framer  of  their  bodies  and  the 
Father  of  their  spirits  ?  He  says,  "  Blessed  is 
the  man  that  keepeth  my  Sabbath;"  but  man 
says,  "  Nay,  I  want  all  the  time  for  myself;  I 
cannot  afford  to  rest.  I  am  surrounded  by  wants 
and  necessities,  and  if  I  do  not  labor,  I  must 
starve."  He  forgets,  surely,  that  the  blessing 
of  the  Lord  alone,  maketh  rich;  that  without 
this,  it  will  be  in  vain  for  him  to  rise  up  early, 
and  to  sit  up  late,  and  to  eat  the  bread  of  care- 
fulness. In  the  sequel,  I  shall  exhibit  facts 
illustrating  this  one  grand  truth  —  that  the  Sab- 
bath is  perfectly  adapted  to  the  frame  and  the 
wants  of  man.  One  fact  which  fell  under  my 
own  personal  observation,  I  will  now  mention, 
as  showing  its  adaptedness  to  the  animal  creation, 
as  well  as  to  man. 

When  my  home  was  among  the  hills  of  New 
Hampshire,  I  was  often  interested  in  watching 
the  hardy  teamsters  trudging  slowly  by  the  side 
of  their  heavily  loaded  wagons  or  sleds ;  and  in 
the  fierce  winter  storms  which  visit  those  regions, 
my  sympathies  were  often  interested  for  them. 
They  are  the  sailors  of  the  hill  country,  trans- 
porting the  produce  of  the  rich  mountain  dairies 
to  the  sea-ports,  end   bringing  in   return,  the 


OF    Tin:    SABBATH.  33 

productions  of  Europe  and  the  Indies.  One  old 
man,  in  particular,  passed  so  regularly,  that  he 
at  length  awakened  my  curiosity.  His  locks 
were  white,  but  his  broad  chest  and  shoulders 
were  still  unbent,  and  his  face  always  looked 
bright  and  cheerful,  even  when  he  was  compelled 
to  "  Bare  his  teeth  to  the  blast."  I  fancied  too, 
that  his  horses  partook  of  the  cheerful  spirit  of 
their  master,  for  they  always  looked  sleek,  and 
toiled  willingly,  though  the  wheels  creaked  and 
groaned  beneath  the  heavy  load.  At  length  I 
inquired  respecting  his  history,  and  learned  he 
had  pursued  that  life  of  hardship,  for  many  years ; 
and  was  one  of  the  very  few  who  had  made  it 
profitable.  Others,  said  my  informant,  lose  so 
many  of  their  horses,  that  it  takes  off  all  their 
profits ;  but  he  has  always  been  lucky.  He  says 
it  is  because  he  always  rests  and  lets  his  horses 
rest  when  Sunday  comes ;  and  I  don't  know  but 
he  is  in  the  right  —  certainly  there  is  not  such 
another  instance  of  health,  vigor  and  uniform 
good  luck,  among  the  whole  of  them.  This, 
my  son,  was  the  testimony  of  an  irreligious  man, 
to  the  necessity  and  benefit  of  the  Sabbath. 

A  far  more   impressive  testimony  was  borne 
a  few  years  since   in  England.      Through  the 


34  INTELLECTUAL    BENEFITS 

influence  of  some  individuals  in  Parliament, 
who  were  deeply  grieved  by  the  profanations  of 
that  day,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  that 
body,  to  inquire  into  the  subject  and  report 
accordingly.  They  had  power  to  send  for  per- 
sons and  papers,  and  were  engaged  eighteen 
days  in  the  investigations.  At  the  close  of  that 
period,  they  reported  that  such  was  the  over- 
whelming proof  of  the  salutary  effects  and  neces- 
sity of  that  season  of  rest,  that  as  patriots  and 
legislators,  it  was  their  duty  to  do  all  in  their 
power  to  preserve  it  from  desecration.  Their 
report  was  voluminous,  and  comprised  a  vast 
amount  of  valuable  information,  with  which  I 
could  wish  you  to  make  yourself  familiar,  for 
the  more  you  think  on  this  theme,  the  more 
deeply  grateful  will  you  be  to  your  Father  in 
heaven,  that  he  has  given  you  his  Sabbath. 


LETTER   IV. 

INTELLECTUAL    BENEFITS    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

My  cear  son  —  You  will  think,  perhaps, 
that  the  Sabbath  may  not  be  equally  necessary 
to  the  man  whose  pursuits  are  purely  intellectual; 


OF    THE    SABBATH.  35 

that  the  iiiind  cannot,  in  the  same  degree  as  the 
body,  need  rest,  and  that  the  man  whose  business 
it  is  to  think,  read  and  study  during  the  week, 
may  safely  pursue  his  avocations  on  the  Sabbath 
day  also.  This,  however,  is  a  great  mistake. 
The  mind,  though  immaterial  in  itself,  acts  only 
through  the  medium  of  bodily  organs.  When- 
ever the  mind  is  excited,  there  is  a  corresponding 
increase  of  action  in  the  brain,  and  when  this 
excitement  is  continued  for  a  long  period,  in 
defiance  of  the  laws  of  our  Creator,  the  most 
fearful  consequences  often  ensue  ;  and  paralysis 
or  apoplexy,  tells  that  not  one  of  his  laws  can 
be  violated  with  impunity.  True,  the  duties 
appropriate  to  the  gabbath  do  not  suffer  the 
mind  to  lie  wholly  dormant,  but  the  subjects 
on  which  it  is  employed,  are  different  from  the 
pursuits  of  the  student  during  the  week,  so  that 
the  same  portions  of  the  brain  are  not  exercised. 
Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  are,  indeed,  an  excep- 
tion. Their  employments  on  the  Sabbath  are 
the  same  as  during  the  week,  with  only  this 
difference,  that  their  toils  on  that  day  are  still 
more  exhausting.  But  this  only  confirms  the 
truth  I  am  trying  to  establish  ;  for  it  is  a  well 
known    and    startling   fact,    that   but    a   small 


36  INTELLECTUAL    BENEFIT^ 

proportion  of  our  clergymen  reach  middle  age. 
Their  lives  are,  upon  an  average,  shorter  by 
some  years,  than  thirty  years  since,  when  their 
employments  were  more  diversified,  and  the 
labors  of  a  little  parsonage  alternated  with  the 
intellectual  toils  of  the  study  and  the  desk. 
Now  they  imagine  public  feeling,  and  the  various 
branches  of  duty  which  require  their  attention, 
forbids  this ;  their  minds  are  intensely  occupied 
on  one  class  of  ideas,  and  the  result  is,  that 
many,  very  many  become  old  in  early  life,  and 
drop  into  premature  graves,  when  their  work 
seems  but  just  begun. 

The  seasonable  and  necessary  rest  which  the 
Sabbath  affords  to  the  mind,  is,  however,  but 
one  among  many  ways,  in  which  it  is  adapted 
to  the  intellectual  nature  of  man.  He  who 
regards  the  spirit  of  the  command,  and  keeps 
the  Sabbath  from  polluting  it,  will  have  his 
thoughts  employed  on  subjects  the  most  enno- 
bling to  the  immortal  mind.  I  speak  of  them 
now  as  regards  their  influence  upon  the  intellect 
merely ;  and  ask  you,  my  son  where  can  you 
find  themes  to  call  into  exercise  your  highest 
and  noblest  powers,  if  not  in  the  thoughts  and 
occupations  suited  to  that  day.     You  turn  aside 


Ol'    Tin:   SAKflAlH.  64 

from  the  beings  ot"  u  day  who  are  flitting  before 
you,  to  think  of  Him  whose  duration  is  eternal. 
The  wonders  of  creation  and  of  providence,  the 
character  and  works  of  him  who  "  has  meted 
out  the  heavens  with  a  span,"  and  who  "  hiyetli 
up  the  depth  in. store-houses,"  are  on  that  day 
open  before  you.  But  yet  higher  and  sweeter 
themes  of  thought  may  be  yours,  the  mysteries 
of  redeeming  love,  the  triumph  of  our  Savior 
over  death  arid  the  grave,  things  which  even  the 
angels  desire  to  look  into,  are  on  that  day  com- 
memorated ;  and  would  you  have  higher,  more 
ennobling  themes  than  these  ?  Believe  me,  my 
son,  you  may  explore  all  the  treasures  of  earthly 
knov/ledge,  and  yet,  if  the  Sabbath  does  not 
duly,  as  it  returns,  turn  your  thoughts  heaven- 
ward, if  you  do  not,  especially  on  that  day, 
become  conversant  with  the  wisdom  revealed  by 
tlie  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  day,  your  thoughts  will 
be  low  and  mean,  and  your  pursuits  will  be 
grovelling,  like  the  earth-worm,  that  never  raises 
itself  above  the  clod  where  it  crawls,  and  with 
which  it  must  soon  mingle.  He  who  framed 
your  mind,  with  its  lofty  aspirations,  knew  what 
would  be  necessary  to  satisfy  its  longings.  In 
the  Bible  he  has  given  you  themes  which  you 


38 


INTELLECTUAL    AUTHORITY 


will  not  be  able,  through  eternity,  fully  to  com- 
prehend ;  and,  blessed  be  his  name,  though  you 
are  compelled  to  eat  your  bread  in  the  sweat  of 
your  brow,  he  has  given  you  one  seventh  part  of 
time  to  become  acquainted  with  those  truths 
which  alone  can  make  you  wise  unto  salvation. 

The  testimony  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  Lord 
Chief  Justice,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  is 
well  worthy  of  being  repeated  here.  His  em- 
ployments were  intellectual ;  and  so  close  and 
diligent  a  student  was  he,  that  he  was  both  a 
learned  and  eminent  lawyer,  and  a  great  divine. 
''  I  have  found,"  says  he,  "  by  a  strict  and  dili- 
gent observation,  that  a  due  observing  the  duty  of 
the  Lord's  day,  hath  ever  had  joined  to  it  a  bless- 
ing upon  the  rest  of  my  time  ;  and  the  week  that 
hath  been  so  begun,  hath  been  blessed  and  pros- 
perous to  me.  And,  on  the  other  side,  when  I 
have  been  negligent  of  the  duties  of  this  day,  the 
rest  of  the  week  hath  been  unsuccessful  and  un- 
happy to  my  secular  employments ;  so  that  I  could 
easily  make  an  estimate  of  my  successes  in  my 
own  secular  employments  the  week  following, 
by  the  manner  of  my  passing  this  day.  And 
this  I  do  not  write  lightly  or  inconsiderately, 
but  upon   a  long   and  sound  observation  and 


OF    THE    SABBATH.  39 

experience."  In  another  place  he  says,  "I 
thank  God,  I  have  ever  found,  that  in  the 
strictest  observation  of  the  times  of  his  worship, 
I  ever  met  with  the  best  advantage  to  my 
worldly  concerns,  and  that  whenever  my  worldly 
occasions  encroached  upon  those  times,  I  ever 
met  with  disappointment,  though  in  things  of 
the  most  probable  success  ;  and  ever  let  it  be  so 
with  me.  It  hath  been,  and  ever  shall  be  to 
me,  a  conviction  beyond  all  demonstration  and 
argument,  that  God  expects  the  due  observation 
of  his  day  ;  and  that,  while  I  am  thus  dealt  with, 
God  hath  not  given  over  his  care  of  me.  It 
would  be  a  sad  presage  to  me,  of  the  severe 
anger  of  my  Maker,  if  my  inadvertance  should 
cast  me  upon  a  temporal  undertaking  on  this 
day,  and  that  it  should  prosper."  So  spake  this 
learned  and  pious  man,  after  a  long  and  critical 
observation  of  Divine  Providence. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  its  influence  upon 
individual  character ;  but  it  is  no  less  visible  in 
its  effects  upon  communities.  Some  years  since, 
there  lived  in  a  secluded  parish  in  Vermont,  a 
Judge,  who  had  not  the  fear  of  God  habitually 
before  him.  He  reverenced  intellect  and  learn- 
ing ;  but  thought  comparatively  little  of  moral 


40  TX'rr.r.[.i:cTr.M.   r.rxr.Fi 

exrelleiicc.  [lis  practire  accorded  with  liis 
seiitini6Mit,.-< :  he  uit!iiio]<l  Ids  iiifliioiice  and  pecu- 
niary aid  from  tlie  pastor,  and  was  seldom  seen 
in  the  house  of  j)rayer  upon  the  Sabbath.  Some 
years  passed  in  tliis  manner^  when  with  his  wife, 
he  spent  some  raontlis  in  travedling  in  the  N.  E. 
and  middle  States.  On  their  return,  a  change 
was  observed ;  they  were  regular  attendants  on 
public  worship,  and  they  cheerfully  afforded  to 
the  pastor  the  pocr.niary  aid  which  devolved  on 
them.  A  neighbor  expressed  his  surprise  at  the 
change,  Avhen  the  Judge  replied,  "  I  have  seen 
enough  on  my  journey,  to  convince  me  that  the 
observance  'i'  the  Sa]>bath  and  public  worship 
are  necessary  ihr  civilized  man.  After  travelling 
a  few  weeks,  1  could  tell  by  the  very  aspect  of 
the  people  whoni  we  mot  in  the  road,  by  their 
manner  of  replying  to  the  inquiries  of  a  traveller, 
whetlier  they  liad  a  pastor,  and  regarded  the 
Sab])at]).  I  saw  in  tiiose  who  enjoyed  and  prized 
ihese  privileges,  a  gentleness  and  kindness,  and 
a  degree  of  intellertuai  culture  that  I  found  no 
where  else."  Tlic  s(\|uel  of  their  history,  as 
coni;ecrc.i  w'li'i  tli  >;h'  i"!--.!:-,  is  most  instructive. 
The  God  of  the  Sabbath  day  was  pleased  to 
honor  Ins  own   institution,  and  bless  its  observ- 


or    THE    SABBATir.  41 

ance  to  their  salvation.  The  wife  became,  while 
yet  in  the  meridian  of  life,  totally  blind  ;  but  she 
was  not  comfortless,  for  the  Lord  Jehovah  was 
her  God,  and  he  whose  day  and  worship  she  had 
thus  remarkably  been  led  to  remember,  sup- 
ported her  in  that  hour  of  darkness  and  trial. 
Her  bodily  eye  was  indeed  darkened, 

"And  wisdom  at  one  entrance  quite  shut  out," 

but  light  from  heaven  illuminated  her  soul,  and 
all  was  joy  and  peace  within.  She  has  long 
since  joined  the  assembly  of  the  redeemed,  and 
entered  upon  her  endless  Sabbath  of  blessed  rest ; 
and  now  that  the  seal  is  taken  from  her  eye,  and 
she  retraces,  with  unclouded  vision,  the  way  in 
which  she  was  led,  how,  think  you,  does  she 
regard  that  period  when  she  first  learned  the 
value  of  the  holy  day. 


LETTER    V. 

MORAL    BENEFITS    OF    THE    SABBATH. 

My  Dear  Sox: — I  come  now  to  treat  of  the 
moral  benefits  of  the  Sabbath,  and  its  adaptation 
to  the  moral  nature  and  wants  of  man.     And 
4* 


•12  :VIOUAI.    P.KNF.FITS 

iiere  so  many  thoughts  crowd  upon  me,  tliat  I 
know  not  what  to  select,  for  I  feel  that  it  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  all  that  is  pure  and  excellent 
in  the  moral  and  religious  character.  One  of 
its  most  obvious  efTects  is,  its  softening  and 
liumanizing  influence  upon  the  heart.  Where 
tlie  duties  of  that  sacred  season  are  regarded, 
the  asperities  of  t!ie  ciiaracter  are  in  some 
hjeasure  worn  off.  There  is  a  feeling  of  bro- 
therhood among  tliose  who  vreekly  assemble 
under  tlie  same  roof  as  children  of  one  parent, 
to  supplicate  blessings  which  all  equally  need. 
It  is,  however,  to  man  as  an  accountable,  immor- 
tal being,  that  it  is  especially  valuable.  During 
the  week,  the  things  about  us  occupy  all  our  atten- 
tion. The  wants  of  the  body,  and  the  common 
duties  of  life,  banish  the  thoughts  of  our  eternal 
destiny.  We  knov/  indeed,  that  we  have  a  soul, 
and  sometimes  a  sudden  and  startling  death 
causes  a  thrill  of  fear  that  we  may  be  called 
unprepared ;  but  week-day  cares  clamor  for 
attention,  and  we  forget  the  warning.  We  do 
not  love  to  think  of  it,  for  the  heart  is  alienated 
from  God,  and  eternity  is  an  unwelcome  theme. 
Qmv  heavenly  Father  knew  that  it  would  be  thus 
h'cAk  his  rebellious,  erring  children,  and  therefore 


or  th::  sAiJiiVTir.  4.'3 

has  he,  one  sevenlh  p.irt  of  the  liiiu^  released  us 
from  tlie  necessity  ol'  providing  tor  our  future 
bt)diJy  wants,  and  commanded  us  to  devote  the 
day  to  his  service.  Such  being  the  case,  would 
you  not  expect,  my  dear  son,  to  find  keeping  the 
Sabbath  day  holy  and  moral,  worth  going  hand 
in  hand.  Such  is  the  fact.  Just  in  proportion 
as  that  is  disregarded,  do  the  other  institutions  of 
religion,  and  even  of  morality,  fall  into  disrepute. 
A  Sahbath-hrea]<iiig ,  moral  people,  is  what  the 
world  never  saw,  and  never  will  see.  This  sin, 
more  perhaps  than  any  other,  brings  along  with 
it  a  fearful  train.  I  wish  especially  to  warn  you 
on  this  point,  as  you  will  be  very  liable  to  be  led 
into  temptation  and  sin,  before  yon  even  ;^uspect 
danger.  Then  let  tliis  truth,  my  son,  sink  deep 
in  your  heart,  that  the  Sabbath  is  so  perfectly 
fitted  to  your  moral  nature,  tliiit  yon  cannct 
disregard  it  and  not  be  a  sufferer  in  your  own 
soul.  I  speak  not  now  of  the  remorse  which 
ever  follows  known  sin.  I  speak  of  its  effects 
upon  your  moral  character,  and  assure  you  with 
tlie  deepest  conviction  of  its  truth,  that  if  you 
allow  yourself  in  ;my  knov.n  desecration  of  this 
holy  day,  you  are  in  the  way  tt)  utter  ruin,  both 
for  time  and  eter  litv.     Ask  tlie  v/retched  inmates 


44  MORAL    BENEFITS 

of  our  prisons  —  those  abodes  of  living  death  — 
what  brought  them  there,  and  if  they  tell  you 
truly,  they  will  say  that  one  of  their  early  steps 
was  Sabbath-breaking.  That  led  them  into 
temptation ;  that  opened  the  flood-gates  of  in- 
iquity ;  that  was  like  the  letting  out  of  water ;  a 
little  rill  at  first,  trickling  silently  along,  but 
gradually  wearing  a  broader  and  deeper  channel, 
till  it  becomes  an  overwhelming  flood. 

A  deeply  interesting  fact,  furnished  by  a 
foreign  missionary,  has  a  direct  bearing  on  this 
point,  and  may  increase  your  gratitude  for  your 
own  privileges.  In  a  foreign  port,  where  is 
stationed  a  seaman's  chaplain  from  England,  the 
Bethel   flag  was  hoisted,  one  Sabbath,  on  board 

the    American    ship    -.      The   congrecration 

consisted  of  upwards  of  forty  American  and 
English  captains  an(i  seamen,  all  of  whom  lis- 
tened, apparently  with  deep  interest,  to  a  plain 
and    faithful    exhibition    of   the    claims    of  the 

Gospel,  by  the  Rev.  Mr. .     The  preacher 

seemed  unusually  animated,  and  there  was  a 
response  to  his  own  feelings,  in  the  fixed  and 
solemn  attention  of  his  audience. 

The  ship  was  going  to  sea  on  the  following 
day,  and  immediately  after  the  services,  the  crew 


wvYC  ordered  to  work,  in  order  to  put  tlic  ves.-el 
ill  preparation  for  taking  advantage  of  the  early 
ebb  tide  of  the  next  morning.  The  captain, 
though  not  a  religious  man,  yet  professed  to 
regard  tlie  Sa])bath  day  ;  hut  in  this  case,  intere.-t 
took  the  precedence  of  every  other  consideration. 
At  an  evening  hour,  when  the  work  was  all 
finished,  and  the  men  were  leisurely  eating  their 
evening  meal  on  the  forward  deck,  a  passenger 
who  felt  an  interest  in  their  spiritual  condition, 
went  forth  to  hold  some  conversation  with  them 
on  the  vast  concerns  of  the  soul.  Their  minds 
seemed  unusually  obdurate,  and  it  was  some 
time  before  they  would  quietly  listen  to  a  word 
from  his  lips.  At  length  the  passenger  succeeded 
in  getting  them  seated  around  him.  He  found 
that  their  peculiar  state  of  mind  had  been  induced 
by  the  fact  that  t/'tei/  had  bren  compclkd  to  work 
oil  the  Sabbath  day. 

One  of  the  hardiest  among  them,  at  length 
made  the  following  most  affecting  concession  : 
"  That  gentleman,"  said  he,  "  did  preach  beau- 
tifully to-day  ;  I  must  confess,  I  did,  to-day,  what 
I  have  not  done  for  twenty  years  before ;  I  shed 
a  tear,  when  that  gentleman  told  us  how  great 
sinners  we  arc:   hut  as  yooii  a.-:  I  irrnt  down  into 


40  MORAI<  AT  THORITY 

tJie  hold  to  work,  it  ivas  all  gone.  There  is  no 
chance  for  a  man  to  attend  to  his  soul  in  such 
a  ship  as  this." 

While  even  the  prodigal  still  remembers  holy 
time,  and  takes  down  his  neglected  Bible,  and 
goes  to  the  house  of  prayer,  there  is  yet  hope  for 
him  ;  one  sweet  and  sacred  influence  yet  remains. 
One  day  in  seven,  he  will  hear  a  gentle  voice, 
whispering  "This  is  the  v/ay,  walk  thou  in  it." 
A  case  that  came  within  my  knowledge  scrcie. 
years  since,  illustrates  this. 

J was  the  son  of  a  country  pastor.     At 

an  early  age  he  left  the  parental  roof,  to  seek 
the  boon  so  coveted  by  New  England  boys,  a 
collegiate  education.  After  various  toils  and 
vicissitudes,  he  was  at  length  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  devoted  himself  to  his  profession,  with 
a  determination  to  stand  among  tbe  first.  He 
had  been  not  only  religiously  but  strictly  nurtur- 
ed,, and  for  a  long  time  the  hallowed  influences 
of  home,, were  sufficient  to  keep  him  from  vice. 
But  now  that  the  prize  he  had  so  long  sought, 
seemed  within  his  grasp,  one  after  another  of  his 
early  shackles,  as  he  thought  them,  were  thrown 
aside.  He  became  eminent,  indeed,  in  his 
profession  ;  the  wealth  and  honors  of  this  world 


OF    THE    SABBATH.  47 

were  heaped  upon  him,  but  in  the  sight  of  heaven, 
he  was  throwing  from  him  treasures  that  gold 
can  never  purchase.  The  pure  affections,  the 
kindly  sympathies  of  early  life  were  gone.  He 
became  a  libertine  in  principle  and  in  practice; 
ond  while  the  unthinking  were  dazzled  by  his 
brilliant  powers,  the  good  looked  sorrowful  at 
the  sound  of  his  name.  They  cast  their  eyes 
forward  for  a  few  years,  and  beheld  him  a  lost 
prodigal,  a  melancholy  wreck  of  all  he  now  was. 
But  amidst  all  this  darkness,  one  ray  of  light 
remained.  The  Sabbath  he  had  never  forgotten. 
Indeed,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  his  outward 
manner  of  observing  it,  might  have  shamed  many 
a  professed  christian.  At  this  period,  I  lost  sight 
of  him  for  several  years,  and  when  I  again  heard 
of  him.  Sabbath  truths  had  shed  their  own 
healing  influence  upon  his  soul,  and  he  had 
become  a  consistent,  devoted  christian. 

Since  that  period,  his  course  has  been  uniform, 
and  he  has  been  distinguished  for  his  efforts  to 
maintain  the  sacredness  of  that  day,  which  was 
the  means  of  his  salvation.  This  is  merely  one 
instance  among  thousands,  to  show  that  the  Lord 
honors  his  own  day;  that  it  is  emphatically  a 
day  for  giving  good  gifts  to  men  —  gifts,  not  of 


48 


MORAL  Bi;xi:-,rn's 


gold,  or  silver,  or  hinds  —  no!  these  are  given 
to  the  toils  of  the  other  six  days.  This  day  our 
heavenly  Father  reserves  for  heavenly  gifts. 
This  day  he  gives  a  hope  full  cf  immortality  ; 
possessions*in  that  house  where  are  many  man- 
sions, and  whither  our  Savior  has  gone  to  prepare 
a  place  for  us.  It  is  indeed  an  earnest  and 
foretaste  of  heaven,  and  so  necessary  do  I  feel 
it  for  myself,  even  at  the  comparatively  advanced 
stage  of  my  homeward  way,  that  were  it  now 
struck  out  from  my  days,  I  should  have  little 
hope  of  ever  reaching  my  father's  home. 

And  for  you,  my  beloved  son,  separated  as 
you  are  from  the  dear  domestic  circle  which 
once  crathered  around  our  hearth-stcne,  let  this 
blessed  day  of  quiet,  and  rest  and  peace,  remind 
you  of  that  home,  where  parting  words  are  no 
more  heard.  Let  nothing  tenipt  you  to  rob  your 
J'^ather  in  heaven,  of  the  time,  w^hich  for  your 
own  best  good,  he  permits  you  to  employ  in 
his  service.  Does  that  service  ever  seem  w'eari- 
somc  ?  O  !  remember  it  is  the  employment  of 
the  just  made  perfect,  of  those  bright  spirits 
around  the  throne,  who  have  never  sinned  ;  and 
the  more  you  love  and  prize  this  sacred  season, 
the  nearer  you  approach  to  their  exalted  charac- 


OF    THE    SAHBATH.  49 

ter.  Whatever  others  may  do,  let  this  resolve 
be  firmly  made  in  your  heart,  *'  I  will  remember 
the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy;"  and  if  you 
find  you  do  not  love  its  holy  employments,  take 
the  alarm  at  once,  humble  yourself  before  your 
Father  in  heaven,  and  pray  him  to  give  you  a 
heart  to  love  his  day,  and  his  service  more  than 
all  other  days  beside.  I  close  with  an  extract 
from  a  sermon  by  one  of  the  most  eloquent  of 
our  divines. 

*'  The  various  means  of  grace,  so  abundantly 
blessed  of  God,  are  all,  by  his  own  appointment, 
brought  into  action  on  this  holy  day*.  But  for 
the  Sabbath,  they  would  not  once  be  thought  of 
on  other  days ;  but  for  the  Sabbath,  they  would 
soon  be  erased  from  the  recollections  of  men, 
and  blotted  out  from  the  record  of  human  affairs. 
Is  the  soul  enlightened,  convinced  of  sin,  hum- 
bled, renewed,  invigorated,  comforted,  assisted 
in  its  struiTgles  with  this  conflicting  world, 
brought  frrward  on  its  spiritual  pilgrimage, 
sanctified,  prepared  to  triumph  over  death  and 
the  grave,  made  meet  for  heaven,  clothed  as  an 
angel  of  light,  r.nd  presented  before  the  throne 
of  God  with<,ut  sp(  t  or  wrijikle,  cr  any  such 
thiiicr'  All  this  ligiit,  and  jnirity,  ;:nd  ccii;^.ola- 
5 


50  MAiVJVEE.    OF    KEEPING 

lion,  and  honor,  and  glory,  she  owes  instru- 
mnetally  to  the  Sabbath.  Is  this  the  happy 
allotment  of  the  church  of  God  collectively^ 
Are  such  the  possessions  of  the  nations  of  the 
saved,  composed  as  they  are,  of  a  great  multi- 
tude, which  no  man  can  number,  from  every 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people?  With  one 
voice  must  they  ascribe  their  inestimalile  inheri- 
tance to  the  influence  of  the  Sabbath.  Blot 
out  the  Sabbath,  and  you  bkt  out  the  last 
beam  of  hope  from  the  troubled  and  desponding 
heart.  Blot  out  the  Sabbath,  and  no  longer  will 
the  salutary  lessons  of  the  Bible,  lead  ungodly 
men  to  repentance  and  salvation.  No  longer 
will 'the  silver  clarion  of  the  gospef,  proclaim 
liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  death's 
prison  doors  to  those  that  are  bound.  No  longer 
will  the  voice  of  supplication  ascend  from  this 
ruined  world,  to  drav/  from  heaven  the  blessing 
now  so  munificently  imparted  by  the  hearer  of 
prayer," 


THE    SABBATH.  51 


LETTER     VI. 

MANNER    OF    KEEPING    THE    SABBATH. 

My  dear  son  r  —  It  now  remains  that  I  give 
you  some  general  directions  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  you  should  "  remember  the  Sabbath  day 
to  keep  it  holy."  Mere  rest  from  labor  is  not 
sufficient ;  it  must  be  sanctified,  set  apart  from 
common  and  secular  uses,  and  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  God.  Every  thing  unhallowed 
should  be  removed  from  it;  not  only  worldly 
occupations,  but  worldly  books,  and  words,  and 
thoughts,  should  then  be  laid  aside,  and  you 
should  as  far  as  possible,  prepare  your  heart  to 
commune  with  the  holy,  all-seeing  Jehovah. — 
As  I  dwell  on  this  theme,  recollections  the 
most  tender  and  sacred,  rise  before  me.  In  my 
father's  home,  the  Sabbath  was  indeed  a  holy  day 
but  it  was  far  from  being  an  idle  or  a  melanchol}! 
one.  We  considered  it  as  commencing,  like 
other  days,  at  midnight ;  but  the  Saturday  eve- 
ning was  in  some  measure  a  season  of  prepara- 
tion. Though  my  father's  labors,  as  a  pastor, 
were  arduous,  yet  his  sermons  were    almost  uni- 


52  MANNER    OF    KEEPING 

formly  finished  at  an  early  hour  on  Satur(!ay 
evening,  that  he  too,  might  have  a  season  of  rest 
and  preparation  with  his  family.  Family  wor- 
ship was  always  attended  at  an  early  hour,  that 
even  the  little  ones  might  not  be  excluded  from 
the  privilege  ;  and  then  we  gathered  around  the 
domestic  hearth,  while  a  religious  newspaper, 
the  Missionary  Herald,  with  conversation  on  the 
good  tidings  they  brought  us  from  distant  re- 
gions, employed  the  remaining  hours,  till  we  went 
to  our  pillows  with  a  soothing  quiet  upon  our 
spirits.  On  the  Sabb?ith  morning,  my  father 
always  rose,  and  wished  us  to  rise,  earlier  than 
usual,  though  there  was  little  labor  for  us  to  per- 
form, as  clothing  and  food  were  prepared  on  the 
previous  day,  so  as  to  encroach  as  little  as  possi 
ble  on  that  sacred  season.  But  it  was  never  too 
long  a  day  for  him ;  and  the  look  of  heavenly 
peace  and  serenity  with  which  he  always  met  us, 
told  that  this  was  indeed  to  him,  "  The  day  the 
Lord  had  made ;  he  would  rejoice  and  be  glad  in 
it."  His  public  duties  were  exhausting  to  his 
feeble  frame,  but  he  never  permitted  them  to 
preclude  attention  to  his  duties  as  a  father  and 
master  of  a  family.  Hymns,  the  catechism,  the 
Bible,   with  plain  and  affectionate   instruction. 


THE    SABBATH.  53 

occupied  the  hours  after  public  worship;  and 
his  prayers,  when  he  bowed  before  the  family 
altar,  told  that  he  had  been  sitting  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  and  learning  of  him  who  sought  not  his 
own  good,  bed  the  good  of  others.  We  were  not 
permitted  to  read  worldly  books,  nor  to  indulge 
in  worldly  conversation  ;  yet  such  a  variety  did 
my  father  infuse  into  our  employments  ;  so  deep, 
and  yet  so  cheerful,  was  his  own  interest  in  the 
duties  of  the  day,  that  the  hours  seldom  seemed 
wearisome  to  me.  But  I  must  check  myself, 
nor  dwell  longer  on  these  recollections,  pleasant 
as  they  are,  but  proceed  to  explain  what  is 
prohibited  in  the  fourth  commandment,  and 
mention  some  of  the  many  ways  in  which  the 
Sabbath  is  profaned. 

The  command  does  not  prohibit  all  labor,  for 
in  that  case,  ministers  must  cease  to  preach  the 
gospel ;  on  the  contrary,  in  its  spirit,  it  is  a  type 
and  emblem  of  that  glorious  abode,  where  the 
inhabitants  "Rest  not  day  or  night,  saying, 
holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty."  But  it 
prohibits  all  labor  which  has  not  for  its  immediate 
object,  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  our  own 
souls,  or  the  souls  of  others.  Just  fix  this  simple 
rule  in  your  mind,  that  you  arc  to  do  nothing  on 


54  MANNER    OF    KEEPINO 

that  day  inconsistent  with  directly  serving  God, 
benefiting  your  own  soul  or  the  souls  of  others, 
and  you  will  seldom  be  perplexed  as  to  the  path 
of  duty.  Cases  may  arise  when  a  plausible 
reason  for  violating  this  command  will  be  placed 
before  you ;  when  this  occurs,  try  this  rule,  and 
I  believe  your  doubts  will  cease.  Let  us  apply 
the  test,  remembering  there  must  be  nothing 
inconsistent  with  either  of  the  above  named 
obligations. 

You  are  at  school ;  a  moral,  perhaps  a  relig- 
ious theme  is  given  you  to  write  upon.  You 
are  obliged  to  toil  late  and  intensely  over  your 
books,  from  the  necessity  of  laboring  a  part  of 
the  usual  study  hours,  to  supply  your  own  wants. 
On  Monday,  your  theme  will  be  called  for  ;  the 
Sabbath  comes,  and  it  is  still  unprepared.  You 
might,  perhaps,  have  written  it  the  past  week, 
by  neglecting  a  favorite  recitation,  or  a  book  in 
which  you  were  deeply  interested;  and  now  you 
say  to  yourself,  this  is  a  good  subject ;  I  know 
not  how  I  could  more  profitably  employ  my  time 
than  in  thinking  and  writing  upon  it.  Stop,  my 
son,  and  before  you  put  your  pen  upon  paper, 
tell  me  what  you  are  doing.  Are  you  serving 
God !  or  are  you  doing  a  pari  of  your  six  days' 


THE    SABBATfT.  OO 

work,  merely  to  escape  ceusure  fromi  your  in- 
structors? "Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do 
all  thy  work,  but  the  seventh  is  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord  thy  God." 

Take  an(  iher  case.  Your  mercantile  em- 
ployer wishes  you  to  write  some  letters  of  business- 
for  him  on  the  Sabbath,  telling  you  it  must  be 
done,  or  he  shall  be  subjected  to  heavy  loss.  He 
says  to  you,  **  I  regret  it,  but  it  is  a  case  of 
necessity;  our  Savior  permits  us  to  loose  our 
animals  on  that  day  and  lead  them  to  water,  and. 
I  think,  for  the  purpose  of  saving,  property  so' 
necessary  to  my  family,  I  may  require  this  of 
you."  Such  cases  have  frequently  occurred^ 
and  they  are  trying  ones.  But  are  the  cases 
analagous  ?  In  loosing  the  ox  from  the  stall  and 
leading  him  to  water,  we  directly  serve  God  by 
a  work  of  necessity  and  mercy.  The  dumb 
animals  would  suifer  were  this  duty  neglected  ; 
and  the  Lord  will  have  mercy  rather  than  sacri- 
fice. In  the  case  supposed  above,  there  is  no 
positive  suffering  to  be  relieved;  it  is  merely 
doing  week-day  work,  from  the  fear  of  losing 
property  which  may,  or  may  not,  be  necessary 
for  the  comfort  of  some  person  concerned.  In 
instances  of  this  nature,  it  is  an  easy  matter  for 


56 


MANNER    OF    KEEPINQ 


God  SO  to  order  events  in  his  providence  that  the 
property  of  the  conscientious  Sabbath-keeper 
shall  be  safe  ;  and  he  often  does  this,  as  you  will 
see  by  reference  to  the  facts  at  the  close  of  this 
volume,  particularly  the  articles,  "  Hay  Making" 
and  "  The  Traveller."  But  setting  this  question 
aside,  you  know  not  how  to  refuse  to  do  what  is 
required  of  you  without  violating  your  duty  to 
your  employer.  In  ancient  times,  a  question 
resembling  this  arose,  and  the  reply  of  the  heroic, 
yet  quiet  and  obedient  Apostle  was,  "  Whether 
it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  hearken  unto 
you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye."  You 
would  disobey  the  command  of  God,  merely  from 
the  fear  of  offending  your  employer  ;  and  for  the 
sake  of  avoiding  some  temporal  evil.  In  such  a 
case,  do  not  hesitate.  Mildly,  but  firmly,  state 
your  objections  ;  obey  God,  let  the  consequences 
be  what  they  may ;  and  the  God  of  the  Sabbath 
can  and  will  take  care  that  you  do  not  ultimately 
suffer  for  your  obedience.  Your  employer  has 
no  right  to  exact  this  of  you.  He  who  says  to 
the  master,  "  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,"  adds, 
"  In  the  seventh,  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work, 
thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man- 
servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant,  thy  cattle,  nor  the 


Ttti:    :iAiHi.\ltI.  57 

stronger  tiiat  is  withiii  thy  gates.' ^  How  broad^ 
and  how  merciful  are  the  provisions  of  this  day 
of  sacred  rest.  All  are  included  ;  even  the  poor 
wearied  animals,  the  innocent 'sufferers  from  the 
penalty  of  the  fall,  may  on  that  day,  lie  down  in 
safety  and  quiet. 

This  branch  of  the  subject  is  so  copious  that 
I  cannot  compress  all  I  would  say  in  one  letter,, 
but  must  defer  the  remainder  to  another. 


LETTER  VII, 

My  Dear  Son  : — ^We  wilt  now  consider  some- 
other  cases  in  which  you  maj  be  tempted  to- 
desecrate  the  Sabbath ;  trying  them  by  the 
simple  rale  laid  down  in  my  fast  letter.  We 
will  Hrst  look  at  a  case  whicli  may  doubtless 
occur  to  you,  in  the  life  of  toil  and  selt-depend- 
ence  Pro^ridence  has  marked  out  for  you.  Your 
business  during  the  week,  confines  you  constantly 
within  doors,  with  scarcely  an  hour  for  exercise 
and  relaxation  in  the  open;  air.  The  Sabbath 
morn  arises  briglit  and  balmy.  You  pine  for 
the  air  aud   blessed    sunshiii/e  of  heaven.     You. 


58  MANNER    OF    KEEPING 

envy  the  liberty  of  the  birds  that  may  roam  and 
warble 

" At  their  own  sweet  will," 

and  while  you  bless  God  for  the  welcome  relt  of 
that  day,  you  inwardly  add,  "  O  that  I  had  wings 
like  a  dove,  for  then  v»^ould  I  fly  away."  Just  at 
this  moment,  a  friend  steps  in  from  an  adjoining 
room,  saying,  ''  You  look  pale  and  sick;  you  are 
absolutely  dying  for  want  of  air ;  come,  let  us 
walk  out  two  or  three  miles,  and  talk  of  good 
things,  and  you  will  be  all  the  better  through  the 
day  for  it."  If  I  were  at  your  side,  I  think  you 
would  turn  to  me  v»'ith  a  beseeching  look,  and 
say,  "  Had  I  better  not  go,  mother  f  Let  us 
talk  a  little  about  it.  While  walking,  you  may 
perhaps  employ  your  own  time  profitably,  but 
that  lad  in  the  opposite  dwelling,  who  has  been 
trying  to  find  an  excuse  for  stealing  away  to 
some  haunt  of  vice,  will  seize  upon  your  example 
as  an  apology  for  himself.  You  walk  out;  why 
should  not  he  ?  and  his  reluctant  parent,  without 
considering  the  different  circumstances  which 
palliate  your  seeming  offence,  at  length  consents. 
You  see,  then,  that  in  this  instance,  there  was 
something  inconsistent   with  the  chfi/  you  owe 


THE    SABBATH.  59 

the  soul  of  your  neighbor  on  that  day  ;  and 
the  more  moral  and  virtuous  your  general  char- 
acter is,  the  more  pernicious  will  be  your  ex- 
ample in  tliis  respect.  I  would  then  say,  go 
not  with  him,  my  son  ;  release  yourself  os  soon 
as  possible  from  an  occupation  which  is  thus 
undermining  your  health,  but  while  you  must 
continue  in  it,  obey  God,  *'And  the  peace  of 
God,  which  passeth  understanding,  shall  keep 
your  heart ;''  and  will  do  more  towards  preserv- 
ing even  your  bodily  health,  than  an  indulgence 
snatched  from  the  hours  belonging  to  your  Father 
in  heaven. 

You  will  at  once  perceive  that  the  fourth 
command,  thus  explahied,  prohibits  all  travelling 
on  the  Sabbath,  for  secular  purposes.  Cases 
may,  and  do  occur,  when  it  is  necessary  for  a 
physician  to  travel  many  miles  to  visit  a  sick 
person  ;  but  he  thereby  serves  God  by  ministering 
relief  to  the  suffering.  A  missionary,  too,  mayi 
meet  with  such  unexpected  hindrances,  that  it 
may  be  necessary  for  him  to  travel  some  distance, 
to  dispense  the  bread  of  life  to  people  famishing 
for  lack  of  knowledge.  But  the  ordinary  travel- 
ling on  the  Sabbath,  which  so  disturbs  its  sacred 
repose,  on  all  our  great  thoroughfares,  and  makes 


60  MANNER    OF    KEEPING 

our  Inns  places,  where  both  masters  and  **  man- 
servant and  maid-servant"  are  compelled  to  labor 
as  on  other  days,  is  of  a  widely  different  charac- 
ter. "  I  travelled  all  one  Sabbath  day,"  said  a 
lady  who  was  a  professed  disciple  of  the  Savior. 
"  We  were  absent  on  a  journey,  and  thought  we 
could  not  afford  to  lose  a  whole  day ;  so  I  shut 
up  my  eyes  and  meditated,  and  never  enjoyed  a 
Sabbath  bette/."  I  doubt  not  l^.pr  sincerity,  but 
believe  she  grossly  deceived  herself.  She  forgot 
that  every  one  who  passed  them  in  the  street, 
added  the  item  of  their  example  to  the  already 
long  score  against  the  sacred  obligations  of  that 
day.  She  forgot,  that  at  every  Inn  she  entered, 
its  rest  was  broken,  and  a  new  apology  given 
to  the  host  for  keeping  his  family  from  public 
worship;  and,  more  than  all,  she  forgot,  that 
when  she  arrived  at  home,  in  that  little  circle 
where  the  influence  of  woman  is  most  deeply 
felt,  the  example  of  that  day  would  do  its  appro- 
priate work  on  many  a  heart,  which  would  forget 
her  mstructions  and  her  prayers,  almost  as  soon 
as  uttered.  My  son,  remember  you  live  not  for 
yourself  alone ;  you  must  have  influence  upon 
others,  either  for  good  or  for  evil;  and  every 
instance  in  which  you  violate  the  Sabbath,  en- 


THi:    SAHBATil.  61 

courages  others  to  do  likewise.  They  see  only 
the  act ;  that  tells  upon  their  depraved  hearts, 
ready  to  catch  at  every  excuse  for  evading  the 
strictness  of  God's  commands,  while  the  excuses 
by  which  you  silence  your  own  conscience,  can 
be  known  to  but  few,  ajid  with  those  few,  will 
have,  perhaps,  but  little  weight. 

Applying  the  test  with  which  we  began,  how 
must  we  view  the  practice  of  suiTering  vessels  to 
sail  out  of  port  on  the  Sabbath,  which  is  some- 
times tolerated  by  owners  who  profess  to  fear 
God.  This  is  a  violation  more  flagrant  than  any 
of  the  foregoing,  inasmuch  as  more  individuals 
are  thus  compelled  to  sin,  and  men  who  rarely 
hear  the  sound  of  the  ''church  going  bell"  are 
deprived  of  one  day,  when  they  might  have 
heard  of  the  Savior.  Let  us  look  at  an  imdivid- 
ual  instance.  The  vessel  has  been  waiting  day 
after  day,  for  a  favorable  wind,  in  vain.  Heavy 
fogs  have  hung  over  the  coast,  or  He  who  holds 
the  winds  in  his  fist,  has  caused  them  to  sweep 
fearfully  over  the  deep,  so  that  both  the  owner 
and  the  sailor  have  rejoiced  that  they  \vere  yet 
in  the  harbor.  At  length  the  Sabbath  morning 
comes  clear  and  bright,  and  a  gentle  breeze 
invites  the  sails   to  be  unfurled.     No,  rather  it 


G2  MANNER    OF    KEEPING 

invites  alike  the  mariner  and  him  wlio  iias 
embarked  his  all  in  that  frail  wanderer  over  the 
ocean,  to  go  to  the  house  of  prayer,  and  ere  they 
commit  themselves  to  the  mercy  of  the  winds 
and  waves,  where  God  alone  can  preserve  them, 
implore  his  protection  and  guidance.  Have  they 
done  so  ?  Ah  no  !  I  fear  not ;  for  the  deck  of 
yonder  vessel  exhibits  a  scene  of  unwonted 
bustle  and  confusion.  The  anchor  is  up,  the  sails 
unfurled  to  the  breeze ;  they  are  filled  with  the 
breath  of  heaven,  and  gleam  brightly  beneath 
the  cloudless  sky  ;  and  the  vessel  rides  proudly 
*' like  a  thing  of  life"'  on  the  untamed  and 
mighty  deep.  It  is  indeed  a  beautiful  sight,  and 
one  of  the  proudest  monuments  of  the  power  and 
skill  of  man,  as  it  swiftly  cuts  for  itself  a  way 
over  the  pathless  ocean.  But  it  is  a  little,  a 
very  little  thing — a  mere  speck  in  the  sunbeam 
—  and  as  I  trace  its  course,  and  remember 
immortal  beings  are  embarked  there,  I  tremble. 
I  tremble  to  think  how  easily  that  God,  whose 
laM^s  they  despise,  might  "  blow  with  his  wind  ; 
the  sea  would  cover  them,  they  would  sink 
as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters."  Now,  it  is  far 
away  on  the  verge  of  the  horizon,  and  with  solemn 
.step  the  owner  has  gone  up  to  the  house  of  prayer. 


THE    SABBATH.  t)3 

Tliink  you  lie  can  join  in  the  petitions  offered  for 
"  our  brethren  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  ?" 
Will  not  a  feeling  of  remorse  choke  his  "  amen," 
as  he  remembers  he  has  that  day  sent  men  under 
his  control,  out  upon  the  waters,  in  defiance  of 
the  laws  of  Jehovah?  After  such  an  example, 
can  he  complain  if  his  mariners  should  prove 
unfaithful,  disobedient  and  rebellious  to  those 
placed  over  them?  He  sowed  the  seed  himself; 
and,  as  he  sowed,  he  must  expect  to  reap. — 
Perhaps  I  have  dwelt  too  long  on  this  point;  but 
less  I  could  not  say,  for  I  deeply  feel  that  a 
fearful  responsibility  rests  on  the  owners  and 
captains  of  vessels  for  the  example  they  set  in 
regard  to  the  Sabbath.  Perhaps  you,  my  son, 
may  never  be  placed  where  you  will  be  exposed 
to  this  temptation,  but  among  the  readers  of  this 
little  book,  there  may  be  some,  to  whom  these 
hints,  at  some  future  period,  may  not  be  altogether 
useless. 

There  are,  likewise,  in  the  domestic  circle, 
and  even  in  well  ordered  families,  many  seem- 
ingly trifling  encroachments  upon  the  sanctity 
of  the  day,  especially  among  females.  What  is 
absolutely  necessary  for  present  comfort  during 
the  day,  may  lawfully  be  done,  and  no  more.     Of 


(j4  .MANXKK    UI'    KL'KFIXU 

course,  this  will  vary  very  much  in  different 
funilies,  according  to  the  different  degrees  of 
hsalth,  etc.  Bat,  in  all  cases,  all  that  can  be, 
should  be  done  on  Saturday,  to  lessen  the  ne- 
cessity for  labor  on  the  Sabbath,  and  no  labor 
performed  on  that  day,  which  could  be  omitted 
till  another  day.  To  make  myself  more  clearly 
understood,  in  some  families  it  is  customary  to 
bake  on  that  day  sufficient  to  supply  the  family 
yeveral  days;  to  do  more  sweeping,  dusting,  etc. 
thr.n  on  other  days;  or,  as  the  evening  draws  to 
II  close,  to  make  preparations  for  washing  on  the 
ensuing  day.  These  may  seem  trivial  things , 
but  in  their  effect  upon  the  principles  and  the 
heart,  they  are  not  trivial ;  they  are  manifest 
and  open  violations  of  its  sacred  rest,  and  their 
influence  upon  the  spirit  must  be  evil,  only  evil. 
One  more  remark  upon  the  desecration  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  I  have  done.  It  may  be,  and 
often  is,  outwardly  kept,  while  the  spirit  of  the 
command  is  broken,  by  reading,  or  intellectual 
pursuits  unsuited  to  holy  time.  Our  simple  rule 
applied  to  Sabbath-day  reading,  would,  I  fear, 
banish  a  gi-eat  part  of  what  is  allowed  even  in 
religious  families ;  history,  the  papers,  periodicals, 
and  light  reading  of  the  day,  are  as  unsuited  to  the 


THE    SAERATir.  65 

season  given  us  to  prepare  for  eternity,  as  any 
secular  employment  whatever.  So  likewise  is 
the  continuance  of  week-day  studies,  on  that 
holy  day.  Even  the  theological  student,  should 
then  turn  from  merely  literary  or  critical  discus- 
sions, to  subjects  more  purely  devotional  and 
heavenly. 

Your  "  Mother's  Plea  for  the  Sabbath,"  now 
draws  to  a  close,  yet  I  cannot  leave  the  subject 
without  once  more  directing  your  attention  to  its 
inestimable  value  as  a  means  of  the  soul's  salva- 
tion. This  I  shall  do  in  an  extract  from  Chal- 
mers, who  has  expressed,  with  equal  truth  and 
beauty,  the  christian's  love  for  this  precious 
season. 

"  We  never,  in  the  whole  course  of  our  recol- 
lections, met  with  a  christian  friend  who  bore 
upon  his  character  every  other  mark  of  the 
spirit's  operation,  who  did  not  remember  the 
Sabbath-day,  to  keep  it  holy.  We  appeal  to  the 
memory  of  all  the  mothers  who  are  now  lying  in 
their  graves,  that,  eminent  as  they  were  in  every 
other  grace  and  accomplishment  of  the  new 
Creature,  the  religiousness  of  their  Sabbath  day 
?hone  with  an  equal  lustre,  amid  the  assemblage 
of  virtues  which  adorned  them.  In  every  christ- 
en 


<\6  MAXXER  or  Kr.r.piXG 

iaii  household,  it  will  be  found  that  the  discipline 
of  a  well  ordered  Sabbath,  is  never  forgotten 
amongst  the  other  lessons  of  a  christian  educa- 
tion ;  and  we  appeal  to  every  individual  who 
hears  us,  and  who  carries  the  remembrance  in 
his  bosom  of  a  parent's  worth,  and  a  parent's 
piety,  if,  on  the  coming  round  of  the  seventh 
d-iy,  an  air  of  peculiar  sacredness  did  not  spread 
itself  over  that  mansion  where  he  drew  his  first 
breath,  and  was  taught  to  repeat  his  infant  hymn, 
and  lisp  his  infant  prayer.  Rest  assured,  that  a 
christian,  having  the  love  of  God  in  his  heart, 
and  denying  the  Sabbath  a  place  in  his  affections, 
is  an  anomaly  that  is  no  where  to  be  found. 
Every  Sabbath  image,  and  every  Sabbath  cir- 
cumstance is  dear  to  him.  He  loves  the  quiet- 
ness of  that  hallowed  morn.  He  loves  the  church 
bell  sound  which  summons  him  to  the  house  of 
prayer.  He  loves  to  join  the  chorus  of  devotion, 
and  to  sit  and  listen  to  that  voice  of  persuasion 
which  is  lifted  in  the  hearing  of  an  assembled 
multitude.  He  loves  the  retirement  of  this  day, 
from  the  stir  of  worldly  business,  and  the  inroads 
of  worldly  men.  He  loves  the  leisure  it  brings 
along  with  it ;  and  sweet  to  his  soul  is  the  exer- 
cise of  that  hallowed  hour,  when  there  is  no  eye 


MANNER    or    KEEPING    THE    SABBATH.         67 

to  witness  him  but  the  eye  of  heaven,  and  wlien 
in  solemn  audience  with  the  Father,  who  seeth 
him  in  secret,  he  can,  on  the  wings  of  celestial 
contemplation,  eave  all  the  cares,  and  all  the 
vexations,  and  all  the  secularities  of  an  alienated 
world  behind  him."  That  such,  my  beloved 
son,  may  be  the  language  of  your  heart,  that  you 
may  so  remember  and  love  the  Sabbath  on  earth, 
as  to  be  prepared  for  an  endless  Sabbath  of  rest 
in  heaven,  where  sin  and  sorrow,  and  sad  feelings 
are  unknown,  is  the  daily,  fervent  prayer  of  your 
affectionate  mother. 


A 

MOTHER'S 

PLEA  FOR   THE   SABBATH. 


PART    SECOND. 

NOTHING  LOST  EY  KEEPING  THE  SABBATH. 


ILLUSTRATED    BY    FACTS. 


THE    PRAYING    SHIP. 

The  letter  from  which  the  following  extract 
is  made,  was  written  by  a  pious  ship-master,  to 
a  friend  of  his,  but  with  no  idea  of  its  publication. 
The  statements  made,  are,  however,  too  impor- 
tant to  be  lost : 

Dear  Sir  :  —  You  recollect  the  time  when  I 

first  met  you  in Hospital.     I  then  resolved, 

tliat  if  the  Lord  raised  me  up  to  such  health  that 
I  2ould  again  go  to  sea,  I  would  endeavor  to 
})ecome  useful  toseam.en  ;  and  I  cannot  but  hope 
that    thi?    desire    had    some    influence    when  I 


KEEPING    THE    SABUATH.  09 

sought  to  obtain  the  coumiaiid  of  a  vessel. 
While  I  was  before  the  mast,  the  Lord  permitted 
me  the  privilege  of  havjug  prayers  daily  in  the 
forecastle ;  and  while  I  was  chief  mate,  I  con- 
ducted religious  services  in  the  cabin,  on  the 
Sabbath.  But  this  always  appeared  to  me  like 
doing  the  work  by  halves,  and  served  oidy  to 
increase  my  desire  to  have  command  of  a  vessel, 
that  the  worship  of  God  might  be  regularly 
established  on  board.  At  length  I  had  the 
command,  and  on  the  first  night  out  of  New 
York,  when  the  watch  was  set,  I  told  the  men 
that  it  was  my  wish  that  they  should  use  no 
profane  language,  as  neither  myself  nor  officers 
made  use  of  it.  I  also  informed  them  that  there 
would  be  prayers  in  the  cabin  every  morning 
and  evening,  and  that  it  was  my  request  they 
should  all  attend.  I  also  told  them  that  all  hands 
should  be  allowed  Saturday  afternoon,  to  wash 
and  mend  their  clothes,  as  I  should  have  nothing 
of  that  kind  done  on  the  Sabbath.  To  all  this, 
they  very  readily  consented.  On  the  afternoon 
of  the  Sabbath,  we  all  sat  down  together,  and, 
having  read  two  or  three  chapters  in  course,  we 
studied  them  over  with  the  Union  Questions. 
Every   evening  in  the  week,  we  employed  the 


TO  NOTHING    I,OST    BY 

"dog  watch,"  from  six  to  eight  o'clock,  in  the 
instruction  of  all  who  were  disposed,  in  naviga- 
tion, &c.,  endeavoring  thus  to  do  good  to  the 
bodies  as  well  as  the  souls  of  men.  I  am  now 
on  my  third  voyage,  as  master,  and,  during  the 
whole  time,  every  thing  has  gone  on  with  order 
and  quietness,  and  there  is  even  more  attention 
to  religion  on  this  voyage,  than  I  have  seen 
among  the  men  before.  Possibly  some  may  think 
there  has  been  too  much  time  spent  in  these 
things,  and  that  the  interest  of  the  owners  might 
suffer ;  but  I  think  I  can  prove  to  the  contrary. 
When  I  was  about  to  sail  from  New  York,  on 
my  first  voyage  as  master,  there  was  a  ship  ready 
to  sail  from  Boston  for  the  same  port,  and,  as 
she  was  a  much  swifter  vessel,  my  owners  were 
fearful  of  her  arriving  first,  and  the  profit  of  the 
voyage  depending,  in  some  measure,  on  that, 
they  were  anxious  to  get  me  away  as  quick  as 
possible.  On  Saturday  night  we  were  ready  for 
sea,  and  one  of  the  owners,  being  in  New  York, 
urged  that  we  should  sail  on  Sabbath  morning, 
as  the  wind  was  then  fair.  I  remonstrated,  in  a 
gentle  manner,  and  prevailed,  and  went  with 
most  of  my  crew,  to  the  Mariner's  Church.  On 
Monday,  the  wind  shifted  to  the  southward,  and 


KEEI'INC    THE    SABBATH.  7  I 

\vc  could  not  get  out,  but  the  owner  was  so 
anxious  for  me  to  sail,  that  he  employed  a  steam- 
boat in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  to  tow  us  out 
to  sea.  But  on  reaching  towards  Sandy  Hook, 
the  wind  was  very  fresh  at  the  south  east,  so  that 
I  lay  in  the  roads  until  Tuesday  morning,  and 
then  made  sail.  The  Boston  vessel,  as  I  after- 
wards found,  sailed  on  Sabbath  morning,  getting 
the  start  of  us  at  least  forty-eight  hours,  besides 
being  several  degrees  to  the  eastward  of  us. 
"  But  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle 
to  the  strong,"  but  the  battle  is  the  Lord's,  whose 
servants  the  winds  and  waves  are.     I  arrived  at 

,  three  days  before  the  Boston  ship,  which 

violated  the  Sabbath ;  dischar^cf  and  took  in  my 
return  cargo,  and  sailed  for  Boston ;  arrived  in 
the  Vineyard  Sound,  after  a  passage  of  forty-nine 
days.  Thence  I  went  to  Boston  and  discharged, 
took  in  another  cargo  for  the  same  place,  and  on 
my  arrival  home  after  the  second  voyage,  found 
that  I  was  twenty-five  days  in  advance  of  the 
other  ship.     I  mention  this  to  show  that  there  is 

nothing  lost  by  keeping  the  Sabbath. 

G.  S.  H 


72  NOTHING    LOST    BY 

THE   TRAVELLER. 

FURNISHED  BY    A   GENTLEMAN   OF  PORTLAND,  MAINE. 

There  is  not  a  truer  declaration  between  the 
two  covers  of  the  Bible,  than  this  in  the  beautiful 
1  anguage  of  the  nineteenth  Psalm,  "  In  keeping 
the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  there  is  great 
reward."  It  must  be  so  in  the  very  nature  of 
things,  independently  of  any  reward  which  may 
be  supposed  to  follow  from  the  immediate  and 
direct  intervention  of  Providence.  These  com- 
mands were  imposed  upon  us  for  our  own  good, 
temporal,  as  well  as  eternal ;  and  nothing  is  more 
self-evident,  than  that  a  cheerful  and  conscien- 
tious obedience  to  them,  must  be  attended  with 
*'  great  reward."  It  is  not  very  uncommon  to 
see  instances  in  which  the  "  reward  "  follows  so 
closely  upon  the  "  keeping  of  the  command," 
that  the  doubter,  even,  is  struck  with  the  coinci- 
dence ;  but  sometimes  the  faith  of  the  believer  is 
put  to  the  test,  when  he  sees  the  scoffer  prosper- 
ing in  the  midst  of  his  iniquities ;  but  it  may 
always  be  relied  upon,  that  the  testimony  of  the 
Lord  is  sure,  that,  sooner  or  later,  it  will  be 
evident,  that  *'  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous 


KEEPING    THE    SABBATH.  lo 

shall  be  upon  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the 
wicked  shall  be  upon  him." 

A  year  or  two  ago,  a  case  came  to  my  know- 
ledge, in  which  the  "  reward  "  followed  so  closely 
upon  the  ''  keeping  of  the  commands,"  that  I 
think  it  worth  relating ;  and  while  the  Sabbath 
breaker  may  regard  it  as  an  ordinary  coincidence 
of  circumstances,  I  am  sure  there  are  many  who 
will  consider  it  an  additional  proof  that  the  Lord 
cannot  lie,  and  that  the  promise,  "In  keeping 
his  commands  there  is  great  reward,"  will  be 
kept  to  the  very  letter. 

A  friend  of  mine  determined  to  go  to  New 
Orleans  to  seek  his  fortune,  as  there  appeared  to 
be  few  opportunities  of  obtaining  one  here.  He 
invested  his  little  all,  therefore,  in  articles  of 
merchandise  suitable  for  that  market,  and  shipped 
them  on  board  a  vessel  bound  for  that  port, 
while  he  went  by  the  way  of  Philadelphia, 
Pittsburg,  and  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers. 
It  was  stipulated  by  my  friend,  with  the  master 
of  the  vessel,  on  board  which  his  adventure  was 
shipped,  that  on  his  arrival  at  New  Orleans, 
if  he  did  not  find  him  there,  he  should  keep  his 
adventure  on  board  a  certain  number  of  days,* 
when,  if  he  did  not  arrive,  he  should  be  at  liberty 
7 


74  NOTHING    LOST    BY 

to  Store  it.  My  friend  was  in  the  heart  of 
Pennsylvania,  with  a  stage  full  of  pleasant  fellow 
travellers,  on  the  last  day  of  the  week,  when  he 
introduced  the  question,  as  to  the  propriety  of 
travelling  upon  the  Sabbath,  which  he  was 
resolved  not  to  do.  The  question  was  discussed 
with  great  animation,  one  of  the  passengers 
siding  with  my  friend,  but  the  rest  against  him. 
They  endeavored  to  shake  his  resolution,  by 
setting  before  him  the  chances  of  a  traveller  upon 
that  route ;  that  if  he  stopped  over  the  Sabbath, 
thereby  giving  up  his  seat  to  Pittsburg,  the  suc- 
ceeding stages  might  be  full  for  several  days  in 
succession,  and  unable  to  take  him  ;  that  on  his 
arrival  at  Pittsburg,  he  might  find,  by  his  delay, 
he  had  lost  his  passage  in  the  only  boat  which 
would  sail  for  New  Orleans,  in  many  days,  and 
on  his  arrival  at  Cincinnati,  he  might  be  delayed 
again  from  a  similar  cause ;  and  that  finally,  on 
his  arrival  at  New  Orleans,  he  might  find  that 
his  adventure  had  been  stored,  thereby  adding  to 
it  heavy  charges  of  drayage  and  storage ;  that 
in  that  fluctuating  market,  the  price  of  the 
articles  he  had,  might  have  had  a  sudden  fall. 
All  these  representations  were  calculated  to  have 
a  powerful  effect  upon  a  young  man  who  was  at 


KEEPING    THE    SABBATH.  /O 

the  moment  seeking  a  fortune ;  but  he  recol- 
lected the  promises  of  God,  to  those  who  keep 
his  commandments,  and  he  determined  to  rely 
upon  their  fulfilment,  at  all  events. 

On  the  Sabbath  morning,  accordingly,  the 
stage  drove  off,  leaving  my  friend  and  one  fellow 
passenger  behind,  to  keep  the  Sabbath  at  a  small 
retired  country  Inn,  in  the  interior  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  they  had  abundant  leisure  to  reflect 
upon  the  course  they  had  taken,  and  to  repent, 
when  it  was  too  late,  their  want  of  worldly  wis- 
dom, or  to  rejoice  that  they  had  obeyed  the  law 
of  the  Lord.  It  may  readily  be  supposed,  that 
they  felt  no  small  anxiety  about  their  prospect  of 
getting  on  without  losing  more  than  one  day, 
but  their  only  alternative  was  to  trust  Providence, 
that  the  stage  which  would  arrive  Sabbath  night, 
might  have  room  for  them;  which,  however, 
proved  not  to  be  the  case.  They  determined 
not  to  be  cast  do^vn  at  the  very  outset,  but  to 
put  entire  confidence  in  the  declaration,  that 
"  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure."  The  stages 
continued  to  arrive,  crowded  with  passengers, 
much  to  their  disappointment  and  chagrin,  and 
after  a  long  delay,  they  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a    private    conveyance,    for    about    twenty-five 


76  NOTHING    LOST    BY 

dollars ;  the  cost,  if  they  had  kept  on  in  the 
stage,  being  about  six  dollars.  My  friend  habit- 
ually looks  upon  the  bright  side  of  things — and 
he  has  besides,  a  firm,  practical  belief,  in  the 
superintending  care  of  Providence  —  and  al- 
though it  did  not  seem  a  quick  way  of  making  a 
fortune,  to  be  delayed  so  many  days  upon  the 
road,  when  he  had  so  many  reasons  for  expedi- 
tion, and  to  pay  twenty-five  dollars  for  six  dollar's 
worth  of  riding,  yet  he  trusted  without  wavering. 
On  his  arrival  at  Pittsburg,  he  found  that  his 
fellow-passengers,  the  Sabbath-day  travellers,  had 
arrived  in  time  to  take  the  only  boat  which  was 
to  depart  for  many  days,  for  Cincinnati.  After 
a  long  delay  here,  he  obtained  means  of  convey- 
ance to  Cincinnati,  and  on  his  arrival,  he  found 
no  boat  ready  to  depart  for  New  Orleans.  The 
water  being  very  low,  the  departure  of  steamboats 
was  not  a  daily  occurrence,  as  is  the  case  under 
other  circumstances.  But  my  friend's  faith  held 
out,  notwithstanding  his  acquaintances  of  the 
stage-coach  had  taken  their  departure  from  Cin- 
cinnati for  New  Orleans,  several  days  before. 

At  last  a  boat  was  prepared  to  sail,  and  my 
friend  had  no  interruption  to  his  progress  during 
the  remainder  of  his  journey.     On  his  arrival  at 


KEEPING    THE    SABBATH.  77 

the  point  of  his  destination,  he  found  the  brig 
had  arrived  before  him;  that  the  stipulated  time 
for  keeping  the  freight  on  board  had  expired, 
and  that  his  goods  were  already  stored,  and  what 
seemed  more  unfortunate  than  all,  the  residue 
of  the  cargo  of  the  brig  was  all  sold  to  one  man, 
who  took  it  from  the  vessel,  and  who  wanted  that 
part  of  it  which  belonged  to  my  friend,  at  a 
handsome  advance  on  the  cost  and  charges :  but 
as  the  owner  was  not  present,  nothing  could  be 
done  about  it. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  affairs,  when  my 
friend  arrived  at  New  Orleans.  So  far,  every 
thing  had  been  adverse,  since  he  left  the  regular 
line  of  conveyance  in  Pennsylvania;  he  had 
been  subjected  to  frequent  and  expensive  delays, 
and  to  heavy  extra  travelling  charges ;  had  lost 
an  opportunity  to  sell  his  adventure  from  the 
vessel,  at  a  handsome  profit,  which  he  would 
have  done  had  he  kept  on  with  his  stage  com- 
panions, and  in  addition  to  all  these  disadvanta- 
ges, his  property  was  burdened  with  additional 
charges  for  drayage  and  storage,  which  in  New 
Orleans,  are  considerable.  But  the  catalogue 
of  misfortunes  ends  here.  In  a  short  time  there 
was  a  large  advance  on  the  articles  which  he 
7* 


78  NOTHING   LOST    EY 

had  —  and  which  he  sold  to  great  advantage  — 
and  the  purchaser  of  the  cargo  of  the  brig  in 
•which  his  freight  came,  failed  before  his  notes 
for  it  became  due,  and  the  cargo  was  a  total  loss. 
Had  my  friend  not  been  delayed  upon  the  road, 
in  an  extraordinary  manner,  he  would  have 
arrived  before  the  vessel  discharged  her  cargo  : 
would  have  sold  his  adventure,  consisting  of  all 
his  property,  to  the  purchaser  of  the  rest  of  the 
cargo,  and  on  the  same  time,  and  of  course 
would  have  lost  the  whole.  Had  he  travelled  on 
the  Sabbath,  this  would  have  been  the  result ; 
and  my  friend  takes  pleasure  in  considering  the 
circumstances  connected  with  this  affair,  as  an 
earnest  that  there  is  great  reward  in  keeping  the 
commandments  of  God — either  directly  or  indi- 
rectly —  and  often  in  this  world,  as  well  as  in 
that  which  is  to  come. 


THE    TEAMSTER. 

FROM  A  CLERGYMAN  IN  MAINE. 

In  the  winter  of  18  — ,  I  removed  with  my 

family  from ,  in  Vermont,  to ■,  in  Maine. 

The  long  journey  was  to  be  performed  by  land, 


KF.EPIiVG    THE    SABBATH.  7i) 

and  household  furniture  to  be  transported  in  the 
same  manner.  There  still  lingers  among  the 
hills,  a  class  of  men  who  will  soon  be  swept 
away  by  the  canal  and  the  rail-road.  The 
wealth  of  the  teamster,  for  so  is  he  called, 
consists  in  his  horses  and  the  rude  vehicle 
constructed  for  transporting  heavy  loads  over  the 
wild  mountain  passes,  and  through  the  deep 
valleys.  His  life  is  a  weary  and  toilsome  one. 
If  diligent  in  his  calling,  he  must  be,  for  the 
better  part  of  his  life,  an  exile  from  his  home, 
with  little  prospect  of  ease  and  rest  in  old  age. 
The  profits  are  small ;  the  accidents  to  which 
both  he  cmd  his  horses  are  expos-ed,  are  numer- 
ous. Yet  are  they  a  hardy  and  cheerful  race  ; 
day  after  day,  in  storm  and  in  sunshine,  they 
trudge  patiently  along  by  the  side  of  their  wagons 
or  sleds,  alternately  whistling,  singing,  or  if,  as 
is  frequently  the  case,  three  or  four  are  in  com- 
pany, beguiling  their  slow  progress  by  the  joke 
or  tale,  coarse  and  dull  perhaps,  but  yet  sufficient 
to  call  the  merry  laugh  from  hearts  willing  to  be 
happy.  The  greatest  hardship  of  their  lot  how- 
ever, is,  that  they  are  in  a  great  measure,  removed 
from  social  and  religious  influences.  The  Sab- 
bath often  overtakes  them  far  from  the  house  of 


80  NOTHING    LOST    BY 

prayer,  and  their  scanty  earnings  and  the  heavy 
expense  attending  the  rest  of  a  whole  day,  with  a 
team  of  six  or  eight  horses,  are  often  made  a 
pretext  for  disregarding  the  rest  of  the  holy 
Sabbath. 

The  man  whom  I  engaged  to  transport  my 
household  furniture,  followed  this  occupation. 
The  journey  was-  too  long  to  be  performed  in  a 
single  week.  Saturday  night  came,  and  with 
his  weary  horses  he  sought  the  shelter  of  an  Inn. 
Several  brother  teamsters  were  there,  who  were 
on  the  same  route.  The  next  morning  he  arose 
early  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  his  faithful 
animals,  and  found,  to  his  surprise,  that  the 
others  were  harnessing  their  horses,  and  prepar- 
ing to  go  on  their  way.  ''How  now;  do  you 
travel  to-day?"  "  To  be  sure,"  said  one,  "we 
can't  afford  to  lie  still  all  day  and  pay  for  the 
keeping  of  our  horses  while  they  do  nothing  ; 
and  look  ye,  there's  a  heavy  snow-bank  in  the 
south ;  'twill  be  heavy  doings  to-morrow,  and  if 
you  are  wise,  you  will  go  too."  "  I  think  not," 
said  he  dryly.  "  Why  not,  pray  ?  I  think  for 
my  part,  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and 
poor  hard  working  folks  like  us,  are  not  required 
to  lose  one  day  in  seven."     "True;  I  am  of 


KEEPING    THE    SABBATH.  81 

your  mind,  but  I  can't  afford  to  do  otherwise 
than  rest.  I  think  the  Sabbath  was  made  for 
man,  and  I  mean  to  make  the  most  of  it,  by 
resting  and  letting  my  horses  rest  too ;  and  as  to 
losing  the  day,  I  have  never  found  out  yet,  that 
I  lost  any  thing  by  giving  the  Lord  his  due,  any 
more  than  by  paying  my  neighbor  what  I  owe 
him."  A  contemptuous  laugh,  and  the  cracking 
of  whips  followed,  and  they  drove  off,  leaving 
our  teamster  alone. 

•The  short  winter  day  was  soon  over ;  but  long 
before  night,  the  snow  fell  in  one  continued 
sheet ;  and  the  traveller  drew  closer  to  the  fire, 
with  the  book  he  was  reading,  and  thanked  God 
in  his  heart,  that  the  storm  had  come  on  a  day. 
when  it  was  right  for  him  to  rest.  The  next 
morning,  the  storm  had  passed  over ;  when, 
thinking  the  roads  passable,  he  harnessed  his 
horses,  and  started  off  at  a  slow  pace.  Just 
before  night-fall,  he  espied  a  long  line  of  loaded 
sleighs  in  advance  of  him,  toiling  heavily  onward, 
and  a  quiet  smile  passed  over  his  weather-beaten 
face,  as  he  thought  it  might  be  his  companions 
of  the  previous  day.  In  a  short  time  he  overtook 
them,  and  it  was  indeed  the  same.  AVeary  and 
jaded,  man   and  horsps,  they  had  been  all  day 


82  NOTHING    LOST    BY 

breaking  paths  for  him.  He  soon  passed  them, 
with  a  kind  *'  How  fare  ye?"  Some  looked  up 
at  his  cheerful  face  and  sleek  horses,  and  scarcely 
deigned  an  answer ;  but  the  s}>eaker  of  the 
previous  morning,  replied,  "  Well,  parson,  I 
believe,  after  all,  yours  was  the  best  policy,  for 
you  and  your  horses  look  as  bright  as  if  you  had 
only  just  been  to  a  merry-making,  instead  of 
dragging  all  that  '  housen-stuff '  through  the 
snow." 

"  Well,  neighbor,  I  feel  more  light-hearted,'  I 
can  tell  you ;  and  let  me  tell  you,  the  Sabbath 
was  made  for  man,  and  there  is  never  any  thing 
lost  in  this  world  by  keeping  it.  Good  night;" 
•and  with  a  cheerful  "  chirrup  "  to  his  horses,  he 
drove  forward,  and  left  his  weary  companions  to 
adjust  with  themselves  the  policy  of  robbing  their 
Maker. 

HARVESTING. 

FROM  RKV.   A.  C. 

In  the  town  of  M ,  in  Vermont,  lived  a 

professor  of  religion,  who,  like  many  others,  was 
depending  on  the  produce  of  his  farm  for  the 
purchase  money  which  he  was  to  pay  for  it.  He 
had  a  very  extensive  field  of  wheat,  which  he  was 


KEEPING    THE    SABBATH.  83 

intending  to  turn  into  money.  About  the  time 
it  was  ripe  for  the  sickle,  there  was  a  season 
of  rainy  and  foggy  weather,  which  continued  so 
long  as  to  threaten  the  ruin  of  this  kind  of  grain  in 
that  region.  On  a  Sabbath  morning,  the  clouds 
were  all  cleared  away.  It  was  a  beautiful,  lovely 
morning.  His  first  care  was  for  his  wheat. — 
He  moves  betimes,  and  musters  all  the  hands  ho 
could  find  willing  to  work,  to  cut  down  his  wheat. 
They  engaged,  and  reaped  a  vast  quantity.  As 
the  day  began  to  decline,  there  were  appear- 
ances of  returning  rain.  They  then  proceeded 
to  bind  it  into  sheaves,  and  conveyed  what 
they  could  into  the  barn ;  the  remainder  they 
"  stooked  up."  The  next  fair  day,  he  was  under 
the  necessity  of  removing  from  the  barn  all  he 
had  transported  thither,  and  of  unbinding  and 
spreading  out  in  the  sun,  all  that  he  had  reaped. 
The  straw  was  mouldering  and  rotting,  the 
kernel  had  grown,  and  the  whole  was  lost ;  while 
that  which  he  left  standing,  suffered  no  material 
injury.  Had  this  man  been  employed  in  render- 
ing thanks  to  God  on  that  deliorhtful  Sabbath 
morning  —  had  he  gone  to  the  courts  of  the 
Lord,  instead  of  going  into  his  field  —  he  would 
have  saved  his  property,  and  his  soul  would  have 


84  NOTHING    LOST    liV 

escaped  the  contamination  of  this  dreadful  guilt. 
But,  distrusting  God's  providence,  the  measures 
he  took  to  preserve  his  property,  were  the  direct 
cause  of  its  destruction.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
this  man  received  his  punishment  in  this  world, 
for  he  afterwards  most  feelingly  lamented,  and 
humbly  confessed  his  crime  before  the  church. 


HAY-MAKING. 

FROM  A  CLERGYMAN'S  DAUGHTER. 

When  I  was  about  twelve  years  of  age,  my 
father  removed  from  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut 
river,  and  took  the  pastoral  charge  of  a  parish  in 
the  then  District  of  Maine.  Religion  and  mo- 
rality were  at  a  low  ebb,  and  we  were  often 
pained  by  the  open  violation  of  God's  commands. 
The  Sabbath  in  particular,  was  shamelessly 
desecrated.  A  large  society  of  Friends,  some 
of  which  sect  do  not  acknowledge  the  divine 
authority  of  the  Lord's  day,  occupied  the  centre 
of  the  town,  and  their  influence  with  regard  to 
the  Sabbath,  was  most  pernicious.  A  single 
hour  alone,  was  occupied  in  their  silent  meetings ; 
then,  in  the  season  of  haying  and  harvesting,  it 


KEEPING    THE    SABBATH.  85« 

was  their  uniform  to  practice  to  have  some  hay 
or  grain  left  in  such  a  situation  as  to  require 
attention  for  an  hour  or  two  ;  and  afterwards 
the  hours  of  that  sacred  day  were  employed  in 
visiting  from  house  to  house.  I  know  not  what 
may  be  their  practice  in  other  places ;  I  speak 
only  of  them  as  I  have  seen  and  known  them. 
It  may  easily  be  supposed  what  an  effect  such 
examples  must  have  had  in  a  community  long 
destitute  of  a  settled  pastor.    " 

We  lived  at  some  distance  from  the  parish 
church,  and,  as  we  rode  along,  on  the  bright 
mornings  of  the  holy  day,  all,  but  man,  seemed 
praising  their  Creator.  The  little  birds  warbled 
His  praises  as  they  soared  upwards.  The  mists 
and  vapors  rose  towards  heaven  in  token  of 
adoration.  The  trees  made  glad  music  with 
their  rustling  leaves,  and  the  richly  clothed 
green  sward  reflected  in  beautiful  lights  and 
shades,  the  beams  of  that  sun  which  was  but  an 
emblem  of  his  goodness.  Man  alone  withheld 
his  voice  in  this  general  chorus  of  grateful 
praise ;  young  as  I  was,  my  heart  ached  to  see 
him  marring  the  beauty  of  that  day,  by  his  im- 
pious, worldly  labor.  I  was  pained,  too,  be- 
cause a  cloud  would  pass  over  my  father's  brow, 
8 


'^6  NOTHING    LOST    BY 

generally  so  placid  and  happy  on  that  day,  "of 
all  the  week  the  best." 

That  look  and  the  half  stifled  sigh  which  I 
often  heard,  when  his  eye  followed  these  erring 
ones,  spoke  volumes  to  my  young  mind  of  the 
sin  and  danger  of  their  practice.  This  was  not 
all.  I  saw  his  principles  put  to  the  test  on  an 
occasion  I  shall  never  forget.  The  salary  he 
received  was  small ;  insufficient  for  the  support 
of  a  numerous  family.  To  increase  his  income, 
he  rented  a  small  farm,  of  which  h^iy  was  the 
principal  produce.  With  the  avails,  he  hoped  to 
pay  some  debts  which  pressed  heavily  on  him. 
Early  in  the  week,  the  weather  promised  well, 
and  the  merry  hay-makers  were  engaged  to  cut 
down  at  once,  a  large  quantity  of  grass,  with  the 
prospect  of  having  it  ready  to  put  in  the  barn 
before  Saturday.  It  was  dried  sufficiently  to  be 
made  into  cocks,  as  they  termed  it,  when  the  wea- 
ther changed,  and  day  after  day  of  cloudy  skies 
followed,  threatening  the  utter  ruin  of  the  hay. 
Sabbath  morning,  the  sun  rose  bright  and  clear, 
and  the  man  who  had  the  care  of  the  grass, 
assured  my  father  that  it  would  be  ruined  if  it 
remained  longer  in  its  present  situation,  but  a 
few  minutes'  work  in  just  opening  the  cocks  to 


KESPING    THE    SABBATH.  87 

the  air,  would  save  it.  "  Shall  I  not  do  it?" 
said  he.  "  No/'  replied  my  father,  mildly,  but 
decidedly.  ''You  will  lose  it  all,  and  you  know 
Sir,  you  can  but  ill  afford  that.  "  "  I  know  it,  " 
replied  my  father,  "but  I  cannot  disobey  God  to 
save  property.  I  would  rather  lose  all  I  have, 
than  violate  the  Sabbath."  The  man  went 
away,  muttcKing,  "It's  a  clear  tempting  of  prov- 
idence," while  my  father,  with  a  countenance 
over  which  earthly  cares  seemed  never  to  have 
passed,  turned  to  the  delightful  duties  of  the 
day.  I  rode  with  him  in  the  old  fashioned  fam- 
ily chtiise,  to  meeting,  and,  as  we  passed  the 
fields  of  our  neighbors,  he  sighed  audibly,  as  he 
saw  that  many  had  been  out  opening  their  hay 
to  the  morning  sun.  I  confess  my  principles 
almost  wavered ;  and  when  I  remembered  how 
troubled  we  had  been  with  the  debts  which  we 
hoped  this  year  to  be  able  to  pay,  I  thought  for 
a  moment  my  beloved  parent  had  been  over  scru- 
pulous. 

The  services  of  the  day  were  but  thinly  at- 
tended. Men  and  women  were  too  weary  with 
the  labors  of  the  week,  to  worship  God  in  his 
sanctuary. 

As  we  returned  home,  a  cloud  was  seen  rap- 


88  NOTHING    LOST    BY 

idly  rising.  It  was  borne  swiftly  on  by  the  wind, 
and  before  much  of  the  hay  which  had  been 
opened  in  the  morning,  could  be  again  secured, 
it  was  so  completely  drenched,  as  to  be  nearly 
ruined.  The  little  which  was  put  in  the  barns, 
heated  and  moulded  so  as  to  be  unfit  for  use. 
The  next  day,  my  father  went  into  the  field, 
expecting  to  find  his  hay  not  worth  gathering 
into  the  barn ;  to  his  surprise,  he  found  the  mass 
of  it  wholly  uninjured,  and  he  could  but  recall 
the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  "  In  keeping  thy 
commands,  there  is  great  reward." 


INCIDENT  FROM  THE  LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 

SouTHEY,  in  his  life  of  Wesley,  tells  us,  that 
John  Nelson,  a  Methodist  preacher,  being  once 
desired,  by  his  master's  foreman,  to  work  on 
the  Lord's  day,  on  the  ground  that  the  king's 
business  required  despatch,  and  that  it  was 
common  to  work  on  the  Sabbath,  for  his  majes- 
ty, when  any  thing  was  wanted  in  a  particular 
haste  ;  Nelson  boldly  declared,  "  That  he  would 
not  work  upon  the  Sabbath,  for  any  man  in  the 
kingdom,  except  it  were  to  quench  fire,  or  some- 


KEEPING    TKE    SAliEATIf. 


8^ 


tiling  that  required  immediate  help."  "Relig- 
ion," says  the  foreman,  has  made  you  a  rebel 
against  the  king.  "No,  sir,"  he  replied,  "  it  has 
made  me  a  better  subject  than  ever  I  was.  The 
greatest  enemies  the  king  has,  are  Sabbath-break- 
ers, swearers,  drunkards,  and  such  like  men  ; 
for  these  bring  down  God's  judgments  upon  the 
king  and  country."  He  was  told  that  he  should 
lose  his  employment  if  he  would  not  obey  his 
orders  ;  his  answer  was,  "  he  would  rather  want 
bread  than  wilfully  offend  God."  The  foreman 
swore  that  he  would  be  as  mad  as  Whitefield,  if 
he  went  on.  "What  hast  thou  done,"  said  he, 
"that  thou  needest  make  so  much  ado  about 
salvation  ?  I  always  took  thee  to  be  as  honest  a 
man,  as  I  have  in  the  work,  and  would  have 
trusted  thee  with  any  sum."  "  So  you  might," 
answered  Nelson,  "and  not  have  lost  one  penny 
by  me."  "  I  have  a  worse  opinion  of  thee,  now," 
said  the  foreman.  "Master,"  rejoined  he,  "I 
have  the  odds  of  you,  for  I  have  a  much  worse 
opinion  of  myself  than  you  can  possibly  have." 
The  issue,  however,  was,  that  the  work  was  not 
pursued  on  the  Sabbath,  and  Nelson  rose  in  the 
good  opinion  of  his  employer,  for  having  shown 
a  sense  of  his  duty  as  a  Christian." 
8* 


90     RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

NO  SABBATH  IN  OUR  BUSINESS. 

FROM  THE  BETHEL  MAGAZINE, 

The  terrible  disaster,  which  occurred  some- 
time since,  on  board  the  steamboat  Helen  Mc'- 
Gregor,  by  the  bursting  of  the  boiler,  is,  to  the 
present  day,  fresh  in  the  minds  of  not  a  few. 
It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  February, 
1830,  on  the  Mississippi  river,  where  the  boat 
stopped  for  a  short  time  to  deliver  freight,  and 
to  land  passengers.  A  few  minutes  after  she  was 
drawn  off  to  proceed  on  her  trip,  the  explosion 
took  place.  The  scenes  of  agony  and  distress 
were  indescribable ;  nearly  one  hundred  lives 
were  lost. 

"  I  was  on  board  that  boat, "  said  a  sailor  to 
me,  the  other  day,  "just  before  the  sad  catastro- 
phe took  place.  It  was  wonderful  how  I  was 
led  to  quit  the  boat,  at  almost  the  very  crisis  of 
the  awful  occurrence.  I  have  thought  of  it  a 
thousand  times,  with  gratitude  to  my  Maker. 
My  captain  ordered  me  to  assist  in  handing 
freight  on  the  Sabbath.  This,  I  told  him,  I 
could  not  conscientiously  do ;  that  I  had  never 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING,     91 

done  unnecessary  v/ork  on  the  Lord's  day.  The 
captain  replied,"  ''We  have  no  Sabbaths  here  at 
the  West,  in  our  business."  Very  well,  I  told 
him;  as  for  myself,  I  endeavored,  wherever  I 
was,  conscientiously  to  keep  the  Sabbath.  "Pro- 
cure some  one  in  your  stead,"  he  then  ordered. 
I  said,  this  I  can't  do,  but  pay  me  my  wages^ 
and  I  will  leave  the  boat.  The  captain  did  so^ 
and  I  left  his  employ.  However,  I  was  soon 
urged  to  come  back,  with  a  proffer  of  higher 
wages,  I  persisted  in  my  refusal,  and  in  a  few 
days,  shipped  at  New  Orleans  for  Europe.  On 
my  arrival,  the  first  newspaper  I  took  up,  con- 
tained an  account  of  the  dreadful  destruction  of 
life  on  board  the  Helen  McGregor.  I  was  truly 
thankful  for  my  escape.  It  has  taught  me  a  les- 
son, always  to  be  prompt  and  decided  in  refusing 
to  do  wrong,  whatever  consequences  may  appear 
likely  to  follow. 


9^2       RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  EREAKING. 


FACTS  ILLUSTRATING  THE  RESULTS 
OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

The  following  facts,  collected  from  authentic 
sources,  are  designed  to  exhibit  the  consequen- 
ces which  follow  Sabbath  breaking,  in  its  influ- 
ence upon  the  character,  and  secular  interest, 
and  likewise  to  show  that  this  heaven-daring  sin 
is  frequently  followed  by  peculiar  manifestations 
of  the  displeasure  of  God.  I  cannot  better 
introduce  this  part  of  the  subject,  than  by  the 
following  extract  from  an  excellent  article  pub- 
lished some  years  since  in  the  Christian  Mirror, 
written,  it  is  believed,  by  a  clergyman,  alike 
eminent  for  piety,  candor  and  discretion. 

"Whoever  should  seriously  read  the  fourth 
commandment,  and  weigh  well  each  separate 
clause,  must  be  impressed  with  its  solemnity, 
and  the  importance  of  the  object  it  was  in- 
tended to  secure.  The  form  of  injunction  is 
peculiarly  solemn,  and  the  particularity  with 
which  all  servile  employments  are  prohibited, 
and  "  the  reasons  annexed,"  cannot  fail  to  con- 
vince lis  that  the  breach  of  it  must  be  regarded 
with  peculiar  displeasure  by  the  Lawgiver.     He 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.     9'3 

seems  to  have  set  a  double  guard,  so  to  speak, 
about  this  comniandment,  invariably  following 
the  reverential  observance  of  it  with  blessings, 
and  frequently  accompanying  the  violation  of  it 
with  appalling  judgments.  The  advantages 
which  result  to  society,  from  the  public  religious 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  are  seen  and  ac- 
knowledged by  many,  who  have  no  particular 
relish  for  the  pleasures  of  worship ;  but,  like 
true  patriots,  they  generally  make  their  appear- 
ance in  the  house  of  God,  from  a  sense  of  what 
they  owe  to  their  country,  and  to  society,  and 
would,  even  if  the  services  were  disgusting  and 
painful.  And  even  this  external  observance^ 
does  not  go  without  its  reward.  Such  persons 
are  usually  favored  with  a  large  share  of  world- 
ly prosperity.  On  the  other  hand,  th^  curse  of 
God  may  be  seen  to  follow  habitual  Sabbath 
breakers,  even  in  this  life.  Every  attentive  ob- 
server, can  doubtless  recollect  instances  which 
have  passed  within  his  own  personal  observa- 
tion, confirming  the  truth  of  this  assertion. 
And  what  a  melancholy  story  would  that  be, 
which  should  be  filled  up  with  a  detail  of  all  the 
parties  that  have  sailed  for  pleasure,  or  gone 
into  the  water  for  diversion,  on  God's  holy  day  ! 


94     RESULTS  OP  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

Probably  more,  while  thus  engaged,  have  been 
drowned  on  the  Sabbath,  than  on  all  the  other 
days  of  the  week.  The  fate  of  Sabbath  break- 
ers occupies  a  large  paragraph  in  the  ^'chapter 
of  accidents." 

It  is  a  delicate,  if  not  a  presumptuous  employ- 
ment, for  a  mortal  to  undertake  to  weigh  sins, 
and  estimate  their  relative  guilt ;  yet  the  scrip- 
tures do  afford  a  warrant  for  saying  that  "  some 
sins  in  themselves,  and  by  reason  of  several 
aggravations,  are  more  heinous  in  the  sight  of 
God,  than  others."  Among  these,may  be  classed 
Sabbath  breaking ;  certainly  if  extreme  horror  of 
conscience  on  a  review  of  sin  committed,  be 
evidence  of  extreme  guilt.  The  master  of  a 
vessel,  in  a  neighboring  town,  who  was  hopeful- 
ly brought  into  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
makes  free,  was,  while  under  conviction,  filled 
with  anguish,  oii  the  remembrance  of  a  particu- 
lar violation  of  the  Sabbath.  Once,  while  in  the 
West  Indies,  he  employed  his  crew,  and  others 
whom  he  hired  for  the  purpose,  in  loading  his 
vessel,  on  the  Sabbath.  The  pretence  by  which 
he  then  tried  to  justify  himself,  was,  that  the 
sickly  season  was  fast  approaching,  or  some  oth- 
er about  as  plausible,  and  which  would,  doubt- 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.     95 

less,  have  satisfied  the  consciences  of  nine  out 
of  ten  in  the  same  situation.  But  this  sin  caus- 
ed him  many  a  pang,  many  hours  of  agoni- 
zing reflection,  and  "  fearful  looking  for  of  judg- 
ment. " 

This  anecdote  was  recently  related  in  a  circle 
of  christians,  several  of  whom  declared  that  the 
profanation  of  the  Sabbath,  was  the  sin  that  dis- 
tressed them  most,  during  the  period  of  their 
convictions.  It  is  certain,  that  God  has  a  most 
bitter  punishment  for  this  sin,  even  for  those  who 
escape  visible  punishment,  and  are  not  visited 
with  any  externally  awful  tokens  of  God's  wrath. 
What  an  impressive  warning  should  this  be  to 
those  who  pursue  worldly  conversation  on  the 
Sabbath ;  what  a  warning  to  those  young  per- 
sons who  employ  the  hours  of  intermission,  and 
of  going  to  and  from  the  house  of  worship,  in 
making  arrangements  for  visits,  parties,  balls,  or 
other  diversions,  and  methods  of  dissipating 
time.  The  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  sees  them ;  and 
ere  long  they  will  feel  the  tormentor  within,  if  a 
future  season  of  reflection  is  allowed  them ;  for 
in  punishing  this  crime,  God  sometimes  deals 
in  a  more  summary  way. 


96  RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

THE  YOUNG  SERVANT  GIRL. 

Mr.  Whitecross  a  Scottish  clergyman,  re- 
lates that  a  young  person  who  had  been  a  Sab- 
bath school  scholar,  went  to  live  in  a  family,  in 
which  religion  was  wholly  neglected.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  street  a  pious  family  resided, 
who  strictly  observed  the  Sabbath.  The  young 
woman  perceived  that  the  servants  were  allowed 
to  attend  public  worship  twice  on  the  Lord's  day, 
while  she  could  not  go  once  to  church,  as  her 
master  generally  invited  company  to  dinner  on 
that  day.  She  reminded  her  mistress  of  this  cir- 
cumstance, and  requested  that  she  might  go  to 
chapel  one  part  of  the  Sabbath.  This  was  refus- 
ed, on  the  ground  that  she  could  not  be  spared. 
She  then  resolved,  that  if  any  vancancy  occurred 
in  the  family  opposite,  she  would  offer  herself. 
This  happening  soon  after,  she  waited  upon  the 
lady,  who  observed,  *'  I  am  afraid  that  as  you 
have  higher  wages  where  you  live,  my  place  will 
not  suit  you,  as  I  give  but  five  pounds  a  year  ; 
but  if  you  will  come  for  that,  I  will  try  you." 
The  young  woman  consented,  and  entered  the 
family.  A  gentleman  visiting  in  the  house,  be- 
ing made  acquainted  with  the  case,  presented  her 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.     97 

with  a  Bible,  on  the  blank  leaf  of  which  he 
wrote,  "Verily  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  no  man 
who  hath  left  house,  or  parents,  or  brethren,  or 
wife,  or  children,  for  the  kingdom  of  God's  sake, 
who  shall  not  receive  manifold  more  in  this  pres- 
ent time,  and  in  the  world  to  come,  life  everlast- 
ing." 


INCIDENTS  FROM  THE  LIFE  OF 
KILPIN. 

The  father  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Kilpin  was  an 
iron-monger,  and  kept  a  general  retail  shop,  in 
that  line.  One  circumstance  in  relation  to  the 
Sabbath,  which  made  a  deep  impression  on  the 
infant  mind  of  Samuel,  deserves  to  be  mentioned. 
A  nobleman  in  the  neighborhood,  was  among 
his  best  customers.  One  Sabbath  morning,  the 
steward  came  to  the  house,  and  said  with  an 
insolent  sneer,  "are  you  afraid  of  the  devil,  Mr. 
Kilpin  ?"  "  No,"  replied  the  good  man,  "I  am 
not. "  "Will  you,  then,  sell  me  some  articles  to- 
day? "  "  No,  I  will  not ;  it  is  the  Sabbath  day, 
and  the  God  of  the  Sabbath,  I  both  love  and  fear. 
To-morrow  I  shall  feel  much  obliged  by  execu- 


98     RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING'. 

ting  his  lordship's  command's."  "Very  well,  if 
you  will  not  serve  me  to-day,  you  shall  not  to- 
morrow, nor  on  any  other  day."  The  steward 
then  retired  in  a  violent  rage.  This  scene  was 
never  forgotten  by  the  young  family  group ;  and 
it  is  pleasing  to  add,  that  the  nobleman  increas- 
ed Ms  favors,  when  told  of  the  circumstance. 
The  effect  of  the  example  was  seen  long  after- 
wards in  the  life  and  spirit  of  Samuel,  then  a 
little  child.  It  is  related  of  him,  that,  after  he 
entered  the  ministry,  he  was  always  very  anxious 
to  promote  the  right  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
In  the  neighborhood  where  he  resided,  in  Exeter, 
he  saw  much  of  the  dreadful  effects  resulting 
from  the  neglect  of  that  holy  day  ;  and  he  used 
his  best  endeavors  to  check  the  torrent  of  in- 
iquity. Exertions  of  this  nature  became  the 
more  needful,  as  many,  even  professedly  relig- 
ious people,  discontinued  the  due  observance  of 
the  Sabbath.  In  Mr.  Kilpin's  family,  the  prep- 
aration commenced  on  Saturday  evening,  when 
the  neighbors  were  invited  to  the  little  chapel, 
that  the  mind  might  be  relieved  from  worldly 
cares,  and  prepared  for  the  approaching  festival. 
On  descending  from  the  pulpit,  one  Sabbath 
morning,  a  stranger  very  politely  requested  him 


UESULTS  or  SABBATH  BREAKING.     99 

to  dine  with  him,  at  the  Inn.  He  replied,  "Dine 
with  you.  Sir,  at  an  Inn  in  Exeter,  on  a  Sabbath 
day  !  No,  sir,  not  if  you  would  give  me  the  city. 
A  minister,  who  has  to  address  souls  on  the  sub- 
jects connected  with  eternity,  dine  at  an  Inn 
with  company  on  the  Sabbath  day !  No,  sir ; 
except  from  necessity,  I  never  sit  with  my  fami- 
ly but  at  a  short  meal  on  the  Sabbath.  I  have 
to  preach  to  myself,  as  well  as  toothers.  Excuse 
my  firmness ;  I  feel  obliged  by  your  kindness." 
Will  not  parents  feel  that  nothing  is  lost,  but 
much  gained  to  their  dear  children,  by  a  con- 
scientious observance  of  the  Sabbath  ? 


THE  CONVICT. 

FROM  AN  AGED  CLERGYMAN  IN  PORTLAND,  ME. 

Many  years  since,  I  was  called  to  visit  a  man, 
under  sentence  of  death  for  murder.  He  was 
scarcely  25  years  of  age,  handsome,  and  intelli- 
gent, beyond  what  was  then  usual  among  me- 
chanics. When  I  first  visited  him,  he  had  strong 
hopes  of  pardon ;  and  I  could  not  succeed  in 
awakening  any  remorse  for  the  past ;  and  to  all 


iOO    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

ray  inquiries  as  to  what  had  brought  him  into 
that  state,  he  returned  evasive  answers.  He  was 
professedly  aUniversalist ;  and  while  the  hope  of 
life  lasted,  he  still  clung  to  this  delusion.  But 
at  length,  every  hope  of  life  was  taken  away ;  he 
found  that  he  must  die ;  and  deep  remorse 
began  to  prey  like  the  undying  worm  upon  his 
heart.  I  seized  this  opportunity,  to  renew  my 
inquiries  as  to  the  cause  of  his  wicked  course, 
and  what  was  his  first  step  in  vice.  He  replied, 
*'  It  was  Sabbath  breaking.  Till  I  was  fourteen 
years  old,  I  conducted  well.  I  was  brought  up 
to  regard  the  Sabbath  and  attend  meeting  regu- 
larly. But  about  this  time,  I  began  to  absent 
myself  from  meeting,  and  spend  the  Sabbath,  in 
amusement.  This  quickly  brought  me  into  vi- 
cious company.  I  went  on  from  bad  to  worse, 
till  every  virtuous  restraint  was  removed,  and  I 
lost  all  control  over  my  own  temper  and  passions. 
Still  I  served  the  time  of  my  apprenticeship  reg- 
ularly, and  afterward  engaged  to  work  as  a  jour- 
neyman. There  a  quarrel  arose  between  my 
master  and  another  man.  It  was  no  concern  of 
mine,  but  evil  passions  had  now  the  mastery  of 
my  reason,  and  when  the  officer  came  to  arrest 
my  master,  I  opposed  him  ;  a  scuffle  ensued,   in 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BRKAKING.     101 

which  I  struck  the  officer  a  blow  on  the  head, 
which  fractured  his  skull  and  proved  fatal." 
Such  was,  in  this  case,  the  fearful,  bitter  fruit  of 
Sabbath  breaking  :  that  was  the  first  step  in  the 
career  of  crime  which  hurried  him  to  the  gal- 
lows, at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five. 


ABUSE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

The  son  of  a  professor  of  religion,  in  affluent 
circumstances,  began,  about  the  age  of  fifteen, 
to  be  intimate  with  a  circle  of  youth  who  v/ere 
remarked  for  their  thoughtlessness  and  lightness 
of  behavior  on  the  Sabbath.  They  devised  vari- 
ous methods  of  passing*  away,  what  they  thought, 
the  dull  hours  of  worship.  They  used  their 
penknives,  read  fragments  of  newspapers,  and 
committed  little  impositions  on  their  seat-mates. 
In  all  this,  he  soon  learned  to  be  foremost,  and 
gloried  in  his  freedom  from  superstition.  He 
arrived  at  manhood,  and  entered  the  family  state ; 
but,  heedless  and  reckless  in  his  character,  he 
Avas  uncomfortable  to  his  friends,  and  quickly 
squandered  the  inheritance  he  had  received  from 
9* 


102    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

his  father.  He  forsook  his  family,  and  some  few 
years  after,  was  seen  by  an  acquaintance,  who 
visited  one  of  our  southern  cities,  in  a  state  of 
abject  and  hagard  poverty.  He  has  not  been 
heard  from  since,  and  doubtless,  ere  this,  he  has 
died,  a  sad  witness  to  the  guilt  of  choosing  com- 
panions who  violate  God's  holy  day. 


DEATH-BED  VIEW  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

FROM    INNES,    ON   DOMESTIC    DUTIES. 

A  GAY  and  thoughtless  young  man,  who  had 
often  opposed  a  pious  father's  wishes,  by  spend- 
ing the  Sabbath  in  idleness  and  folly,  instead  of 
accompanying  his  parents  to  the  house  of  God, 
was  taking  a  ride,  one  Sabbath  morning.  After 
riding  for  some  time,  at  great  speed,  he  sudden- 
ly pulled  up  his  horse,  while  the  animal,  by 
stopping  more  suddenly  than  he  expected,  gave 
him  such  a  sudden  jerk,  that  it  injured  the  spinal 
marrow  :  and  when  he  came  to  his  father's  door, 
he  had  totally  lost  the  use  of  the  lower  extremi- 
ties of  his  body.  He  was  lifted  from  his  horse, 
and  laid  on  that  bed,  which  was  destined  to  prove 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.    103 

to  liim  the  bed  of  death ;  and  there,  he  had 
leisure  to  reflect  on  his  ways.  It  was,  when  in 
this  situation,  I  was  asked  to  visit  him,  and  he 
then  discovered  the  deepest  solicitude  about  the 
things  that  belonged  to  his  eternal  peace.  He 
eagerly  listened  to  the  representation  that  was 
given  him  respecting  the  evil  of  sin,  its  dreadful 
consequences,  and  the  ground  of  hope  to  the 
guilty.  He  seemed  much  impressed  with  a 
sense  of  his  need  of  pardoning  mercy,  and 
thankfully  to  receive  it  in  the  way  that  God  had 
revealed.  Many  parts  of  the  conversations  I 
had  with  him  have  now  escaped  my  recollection, 
but  some  of  his  expressions,  I  shall  not  easily  for- 
get. On  one  occasion,  when  referring  to  his 
past  life,  and  finding  himself  now  unable  to  at- 
tend public  worship,  he  exclaimed,  "  O  !  what 
would  I  now  give  for  some  of  those  Sabbaths  I 
formerly  treated  with  contempt."  He  seemed 
deeply  to  feel  and  to  deplore  his  guilt,  in  having 
so  heinously  misimproved  the  precious  opportu- 
nities of  waiting  on  the  public  ordinances  of 
religion,  which,  in  the  day  of  health,  he  had 
enjoyed. 


104    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 


THE  INFIDEL'S  SABBATH. 

FROM    WHITECROSS'    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

A  society  of  infidels  were  in  the  practice  of 
meeting  together,  on  Sabbath  mornings,  to  ridi- 
cule religion,  and  to  encourage  each  other  in  all 
manner  of  wickedness.  At  length  they  pro- 
ceeded so  far,  as  to  meet,  by  previous  agreement, 
to  burn  their  Bibles !  They  had  lately  initiated 
a  young  man  into  their  awful  mysteries,  who  was 
brought  up  under  great  religious  advantages,  and 
had  seemed  to  promise  well ;  but,  on  that  occas- 
ion, he  proceeded  as  far  as  his  companions, 
threw  his  Bible  into  the  flames,  and  promised 
with  them,  never  to  go  into  a  place  of  religious 
worship  again.  He  was  soon  afterwards  taken 
ill.  He  was  visited  by  a  serious  man,  who  found 
him  in  the  agonies  of  a  distressed  mind.  He 
spoke  to  him  of  his  past  ways.  The  poor  crea- 
ture said,  "It  all  did  well  enough  while  in  health, 
and  while  I  could  keep  off  the  thoughts  of 
death  ; "  but  when  the  Redeemer  was  mentioned 
to  him,  he  hastily  exclaimed,  ''What's  the  use 
of  talking  to  me  about  mercy  ?"  When  urged 
tolooktoChristjhesaid,  "I  tell  you  it's  of  no  use 


RESULTS  OP  SABBATH  BREAKING.    105 

now  ;  'tis  too  late,  'tis  too  late.  Once  I  could 
pray,  but  now  I  can't."  He  frequently  repeated, 
"I  cannot  pray,  I  will  not  pray."  He  shortly 
afterwards  expired,  uttering  the  most  dreadful 
imprecations  against  some  of  his  companions  in 
iniquity,  who  came  to  see  him,  and  now  and 
then,  saying,  "  My  Bible  !  oh  the  Bible  !" 


COST  OF  SABBATH-BREAKING. 

FROM    pastor's    JOURNAL. 

The  following  is  substantially  the  statement 
of  a  man,  who  for  years,  had  been  living  a  stran- 
ger to  the  sanctuary,  and  utterly  neglectful  of 
all  religious  concerns  It  was  made  without  any 
inquiry  or  knowledge  of  the  facts,  till  he  stated 
them.  "I  am  determined  on  one  thing,"  said 
he,  "  to  break  the  Sabbath  no  more.  I  believe 
the  judgments  of  heaven  will  follow  the  Sabbath- 
breaker.  I  believe  they  have  followed  me.  I 
will  state  my  case.  My  sloop,  loaded  with  wood, 
got  aground.  There  was  no  danger,  and  no 
necessity,  as  she  was  in  a  safe  harbor,  but  I 
worked  most  of  the  Sabbath  to  get  her  off;  I 


]06    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

succeeded,  but  she  grounded  again,  and  I  lost  a 
week  before  she  would  float  once  more.  But 
few  hours  from  port,  she  went  ashore  in  a  squall, 

on  N Island,  and  there  another  week  was 

lost.  Getting  off,  and  into  a  neighboring  harbor, 
a  gale  drove  her  ashore  again,  where  she  lay 

another  week.     I  reached  the  port  of  N ,  but 

so  late  as  to  be  frozen  in,  and  another  week  was 
lost.  Returning  home,  and  just  entering  the 
harbor,  a  heavy  easterly  gale  drove  the  sloop  to 
sea;  and  after  a  dreadful  night  of  suffering  and 
danger,  the  vessel  was  driven  high  and  dry  upon 
the  rocks,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay.  She 
could  not  be  got  off,  and  was  sold  for  a  trifle. 
Thus,  to  save  one  day,  by  working  on  the  Sab- 
bath, I  lost  more  than  thirty,  lost  my  vessel,  and 
came  near  losing  my  life  and  with  it,  my  immor- 
tal soul !  I  shall  take  care  how  I  violate  the 
Sabbath  hereafter.  These  events  have  produced 
more  reflection  in  my  mind,  upon  the  subject  of 
religion,  than  all  the  rest  of  the  events  of  my  life. 
There  are  cases  on  record  so  well  authentica- 
ted, that  we  cannot  doubt  their  truth,  where  the 
wrath  of  Heaven  has  manifestly,  and  in  a  most 
remarkable  manner,  fallen  upon  the  daring 
violation  of  the  Lord's  day.     Of  this  class,  are 


Ri:SULTS    OF    SA15BATH    BREAKINO.  107 

the  following,  which  must  make  a  solemn  im- 
pression even  upon  those  who  deny  the  retribu- 
tive justice  of  God,  in  such  cases ;  for  who  would 
wish  to  be  called  into  the  presence  of  his  Maker, 
while  openly  bidding  defiance  to  his  commands? 


THE  DAUGHTER. 

FROM   THE    NEW    YORK    OBSERVER. 

As  I  was  walking  down  street,  on  my  way  to 
church,  I  saw  a  party  of  young  people  going 
on  before  me,  whose  volatile  manners  ill  accord- 
ed with  the  sanctity  of  the  day ;  and  just  as  I 
was  passing  them,  I  heard  one  say,  ^'Indeed,  I 
think  we  shall  do  wrong ;  my  conscience  con- 
demns me ;  I  must  return."  "There  can  be  no 
harm,"  replied  another,  "  in  taking  an  excursion 
on  the  water  ;  especially  as  we  have  resolved  to 
go  to  church  in  the  evening."  "I  must  return," 
rejoined  a  female  voice,  *'  My  conscience  con- 
demns me ;  what  will  my  father  say,  if  he  hear 
of  it  ? "  By  this  time,  they  had  reached  the 
water,  and  one  of  the  party  was  busily  engaged 
with  a  waterman,  while  the  rest  stood  in  close 


108      RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

debate,  for  the  space  of  five  minutes,  when  they 
all  moved  towards  the  water. 

I  watched  them  going  down  the  stairs,  and 
thought  I  perceived  an  air  of  peculiar  melan- 
choly in  the  countenance  of  the  female  who  had 
objected  to  the  excursion,  but  whose  firmness 
had  given  way  to  the  importunity  of  her  com- 
panions. Two  of  the  gentlemen  stepped  into 
the  boat ;  two  more  stood  at  the  water's  edge, 
and  the  females  were  handed  in,  one  after  anoth- 
er ;  but  still  I  could  perceive  great  reluctance 
on  the  part  of  the  one  who  had  previously  objec- 
ted ;  till  at  length,  being  surrounded  by  all  the 
gentlemen  of  the  party,  she  yielded,  and  the 
boat  pushed  off.  It  was  a  fine  morning,  though 
rather  cold ;  the  tide  was  running  at  its  usual 
rate ;  many  were  gazing  on  them,  like  myself, 
when  a  naval  officer,  standing  near  me,  called 
to  them  and  said,  "A  pleasant  voyage  to  you." 
One  of  the  gentlemen  suddenly  arose  to  return 
the  compliment;  but,  from  some  cause  that  I 
could  not  perceive,  he  unfortunately  fell  into  the 
water.  The  disaster  threw  the  whole  party  into 
the  utmost  consternation  ;  and  each  one,  instead 
of  retaining  his  seat,  rushed  to  the  side  of  the 
boat,  where  their  companion  had  fallen,  which 


RESULTS  OP  SABHATII  BREAKING.    109 

upset  it,  and  all  were  plunged  into  the  deep. 
The  shriek  the  spectators  gave,  when  they  be- 
held the  calamity,  exceeded  any  noise  I  had  ever 
heard.  Boats  were  immediately  put  off,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  I  saw  the  watermen  rescuing  one, 
and  another,  and  another,  from  a  watery  grave. 
Having  picked  up  all  they  could  find,  the  differ- 
ent boats  rowed  ashore,  where  some  medical 
gentlemen  were  in  waiting  ;  but  when  the  party 
met  together,  no  language  can  describe  the  hor- 
ror  that  was  depicted  on  every  countenance, 
when  they  found  that  two  were  missing,  — 
*'  Where's  my  sister  ?  "  said  the  voice  which  had 
said  only  a  few  minutes  before,  "  There  can  be 
no  harm  in  taking  an  excursion  on  the  water, 
especially  as  we  have  resolved  to  go  to  church 
in  the  evening."  "  Where's  my  Charles?  "  said 
a  lady,  who  had  appeared  the  most  gay  and 
sprightly,  when  first  I  saw  them. 

At  length  the  boats,  which  had  gone  a  consid- 
erable distance  up  the  river,  were  seen  returning ; 
and  on  being  asked  if  they  had  picked  up  any 
one,  replied,  "  Yes,  two."  The  reply  electrified 
the  whole  party  ;  they  wept  for  joy,  and  so  did 
many  others  who  stood  around  them.     "  Here's 

a  gentleman,"    said  the  waterman,   as   he   was 
10 


110    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

coming  up  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  "  but  I  believe 
he's  dead."  *' Where's  the  lady?"  said  her 
brother;  "Is  she  safe?"  "She's  in  the  other 
boat,  sir."  "Is  she  alive?  has  she  spoken?" 
She  has  not  spoken,  sir."  "Is  she  dead  ?  O  ! 
tell  me."  "I  fear  she  is,  sir." 

The  bodies  were  immediately  removed  to  a 
house  in  the  vicinity,  and  every,  eifort  was  made 
to  restore  animation,  and  some  faint  hopes  were 
entertained,  by  the  medical  gentlemen,  that  they 
should  succeed.  In  the  space  of  little  more  than 
ten  minutes,  they  announced  the  joyful  news 
that  the  gentleman  began  to  breathe,  but  they 
made  no  allusion  to  the  lady.  Her  brother  sat 
motionless,  till  the  actual  decease  of  his  sister 
was  announced,  when  he  started  up,  and  became 
almost  frantic  with  grief;  and  though  his  com- 
panions tried  to  comfort  him,  yet  he  refused  to 
hear  the  words  of  consolation. 

"O !  my  sister,  my  sister  !  would  to  God  I  had 
died  for  thee  !  " 

They  were  all  overwhelmed,  and  knew  not 
what  to  say.  "Who  will  bear  the  heavy  tidings 
to  our  father  1 "  said  the  brother,  pacing  back- 
wards and  forwards  in  the  room,  like  a  maniac. 
"  O !  who  will  bear  the  heavy  tidings  to  our 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.    Ill 

father?"  He  paused;  a  death-like  stilhiess 
pervaded  the  whole  apartment;  he  again  burst 
forth  in  the  agonies  of  despair,"  "  I  forced  her 
to  go,  against  the  dictates  of  her  conscience  ;  I 
am  her  murderer  ;  I  ought  to  have  perished,  and 
not  my  sister.  Who  will  bear  the  heavy  tidings 
to  our  father?"  ** I  will,"  said  a  gentleman 
who  had  been  unremitting  in  his  attentions  to 
the  sufferers.  "  Do  you  know  him,  sir  ?  "  "Yes, 
I  know  him."  '*0 !  how  can  I  ever  appear 
again  in  his  presence?  I  enticed  the  best  of 
children,  to  an  act  of  disobedience,  which  has 
destroyed  her." 

How  the  old  man  received  the  intelligence, 
or  what  moral  effect  resulted  from  the  disaster, 
I  never  heard ;  but  I  would  say  to  the  young, 
resist  the  first  temptation  to  evil,  or  your  ruin 
may  be  the  consequence. 


THE   PLEASURE   PARTY. 

FROM    THE    LONDON    BAPTIST    MAGAZINE, 

Six  young  men  belonging  to  the  town  and 
vicinity  of  Ulverstone,  Lancashire,  resolved  on 
having  a  pleasure  excursion,  in  a  boat,  on  the 
Lord's  day.     They  set  off  from  Ulverstone,  very 


112  RESULTS    OF    SABBATH    BREAKING. 

early  in  the  morning,  and  intended  to  proceed 
down  the  bay  of  Morecambe,  and  visit  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  the  island,  called  Walney. — 
The  evening  passed  over,  the  night  arrived,  and 
they  did  not  return.  On  Monday,  their  friends 
were  extremely  anxious  concerning  their  safety, 
and  made  inquiries,  in  all  directions,  but  to  no 
purpose.  The  result  proved,  alas  !  too  plainly, 
that  all  had  perished  :  not  one  having  escaped  to 
communicate  to  their  friends,  the  tidings  of  woe, 
or  relate  the  particulars  of  the  fatal  accident. 
It  is  supposed  a  squall  had  upset  the  boat, — which 
was  found  empty,  —  and  precipitated  all  within, 
into  the  deep.  Four  of  the  bodies  were  found. 
The  writer  of  this,  was  called  on  to  discharge 
the  painful  duties  of  the  funeral  service,  at  the 
interment  of  one  of  them.  He  was  a  young 
man,  about  thirty-one  years  of  age,  the  son  of 
religious  parents,  members  of  the  independent 
church  at  Ulverstone.  They  accustomed  him, 
from  his  infancy,  to  attend  the  house  of  God ; 
but  when  he  arrived  at  manhood,  he  broke 
through  the  restraints  of  education,  associated 
with  the  profligate,  and  became  himself  a  prof- 
ligate character.  Not  long  before  the  awful 
catastrophe,  in  conversation  with  a  pious  relative. 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.    113 

he  expressed  himself,  to  this  effect:  *' What  is 
there,"  said  he,  "  of  pleasure,  that  I  have  not 
tried  ?  yet  I  cannot  obtain  happiness.  I  know 
the  good  man  is  the  only  happy  one.  I  would 
give  the  world  to  be  such ;  but  I  cannot  pray." 

His  relative  wished  him  to  attend  public  ser- 
vice, in  the  chapel.  "  I  would,"  he  replied, 
*'  do  any  thing  almost,  that  you  wish  me  to,  ex- 
cept attending  there ;  that  I  cannot  do."  Such 
were  the  sentiments  of  his  heart,  and  such  the 
despairing  condition  he  had  brought  himself  into 
by  his  sins.  Did  he  find  satisfaction  in  his  in- 
iquity ?  No,  he  confessed  the  contrary  ;  he  was 
wretched ;  he  honestly  acknowledged  that ;  for, 
with  all  his  crimes,  he  abhored  deceit,  and  urged, 
as  one  reason  why  he  could  not  attend  the  house 
of  God,  that  he  should  seem,  by  hypocrisy,  to 
disgrace  the  cause  of  religion.  His  Sabbaths^ 
of  course,  were  misspent,  and  it  is  said,  some 
former  escapes  from  a  watery  grave,  might  have 
taught  him  wisdom.  Being  an  excellent  swim- 
mer, he  thought  himself  always  secure ;  but  the 
time  was  come  when  divine  forbearance  grew 
weary.  He  was  found  at  a  great  distance  from 
the  place  where  it  is  supposed  the  boat  was  up- 
set, and  probably  sunk,  after  contending  with 
10* 


114    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

the  waves  for  a  long  time.  He  was  naked,  and 
so  disfigured  as  scarcely  to  be  recognized  by 
his  relatives.  Had  it  been  another  day,  and  not 
the  Sabbath,  his  skill  in  swimming  might  have 
availed  to  save  him ;  but  probably,  in  this  case, 
as  in  many  other  cases  of  drowning  on  the  Lord's 
day,  where  it  has  seemed  as  if  they  might  easily 
have  been  saved,  the  consciousness  of  guilt  made 
him  poiverlcss. 

Reader,  remember  if  thou  contendest  with 
the  Almighty,  thy  skill  and  courage  will  avail 
thee  nothing ;  remorse  will  render  thee  helpless 
as  an  infant,  and  thou  wilt  sink  as  lead  in  the 
mighty  waters. 


THE   LAUNCH. 

FROM    A    CLERGYMAN    IN    MAINE. 

During  the  late  war,  the  writer  had  his  resi- 
dence within  an  hour's  walk  of  one  of  the 
United  States  navy  yards.  He  was  one  of  many 
thousands  who  resorted  thither  to  witness  the 
launching  of  a  seventy-four  gun  ship.  It  was 
on  Saturday.     The  bridges,  the  tops  of  houses, 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.     H'^ 

the  neighboring  eminences  and  wharves,  were 
thronged  witli  spectators ;  besides  a  great  many 
acres  of  water,  literally  covered  with  small  ves- 
sels, and  boats  filled  with  people.  A  few  minutes 
before  the  expected  time,  this  elegant  and  most 
sublime  and  wonderful  work  of  art,  began  to 
move  slowly  towards  its  destined  element ;  but, 
to  the  inexpressible  disappointment  of  thousands, 
she  stopped  on  her  loay^^,  and  did  not  float  -that 
day. 

The  next  day,  (Sabbath)  all  hands,  or  as  many 
as  could  be  employed,  were  summoned  to  work, 
and  prepare  to  *'  get  her  off."  Before  night,  the 
master,  in  a  particular  department  of  the  work, 
was  suddenly  killed,  by  something  falling  upon 
his  head  from  above.  These  facts  were  of  pub- 
lic notoriety,  but  the  writer  was  afterwards  told 
that  this  man  was  a  professor  of  religion,  a 
communicant  in  a  Methodist  church,  and  hope- 
fully a  religious  man ;  that,  on  the  morning  of 
this  Sabbath,  he  had  most  distressing  conflicts 
of  mind,  and  hesitated  a  long  time,  whether  to 
go  or  not.  But  he  thought  he  could  ill  be 
spared,  as  he  was  a  master-workman  ;  that,  if  he 
should  fail  to  go,  he  should  certainly  lose  his 
place,  and  in  that  case  he   knew   not  how  he 


116 


RESULTS  OF  SAEBATH  BREAKING. 


should  provide  for  his  family,  who  were  depen- 
dent upon  his  labor  for  subsistence.  He  went, 
but  did  no  more  for  the  support  of  his  family. 
The  writer  puts  the  more  confidence  in  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  statement,  because  the  circum- 
stances were  told  him  by  a  man  belonging  to  the 
same  communion,  and  the  same  particular  church 
with  the  deceased.  It  is  believed,  too,  that  this 
man  was  the  only  professor  of  religion,  engaged 
on  the  vessel  that  day. 

When  will  professors  learn  to  ''  trust  in  the 
Lord,  and  do  good?"  But  if  judgment  first 
begin  at  the  house  of  God,  what  shall  be  the  end 
of  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  '^ 


THE  MURDERER'S  CELL. 

The  editor  of  the  Missouri  and  Illinois  Tem- 
perance Herald,  gives  the  following  sketch  of  a 
visit  to  Buchanan,  who  was  hanged  at  St  Louis, 
on  the  third  of  March,  1840. 

We  were  met  at  the  entrance,  by  a  good  look- 
ing man  of  three  or  four  and  thirty,  attired  in 
the  garby  and  having  the  deportment  of  a   gea- 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.     117 

tleman.  As  we  surveyed  his  features,  and 
discovered  not  the  least  expression  of  savage 
malignity,  but,  on  the  contrary,  what  we  consid- 
ered the  fair  index  of  benevolence  and  kindness, 
we  could  not  but  exclaim,  is  this  the  man  that 
on  Friday  next,  is  to  expiate  the  guilt  of  murder, 
upon  the  gallows !  He  appeared  dejected,  in 
view  of  his  awful  condition,  but  was  communi- 
cative. In  answer  to  our  inquiries,  he  stated 
that  he  was  a  native  of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  where 
he  was  brought  up.  When  he  was  a  child,  he 
went  to  Sunday  school,  for  several  years,  and 
had  faithful  teachers.  He  lived  in  the  family  of 
Judge  Bayard,  where  they  worshiped  God,  daily, 
morning  and  evening.  The  ladies  of  the  family 
would  instruct  him  on  the  Sabbath,  out  of  the 
Bible.  His  mother  was  a  godly  woman,  and  is 
still  living,  an  aged  and  deeply  afflicted  widow. 
He  has  not  seen  her  for  three  years.  He  showed 
us  letters  he  had  received  from  her,  since  his 
imprisonment,  in  which  she  mentioned  the 
mournful  fact,  that  a  younger  son  had  become 
insane,  since  his  brother's  melancholy  fate  had 
been  decided. 

The  priisoner  was  brought  up  to  the  trade  of 
hat-making.     It  injured  his  health,  and  he  was 


118    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

advised,  by  his  physician,  to  engage  in  some 
light  occupation.  He  accordingly  engaged  as 
bar-keeper,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and 
then,  said  he,  "  I  barely  knew  what  liquor  was. 
I  soon  began  to  taste  a  little,  but  for  the  last  three 
or  four  years,  I  kept  stimulated  most  of  the  time, 
though  I  took  care  not  to  drink  enough  to  show 
it."  After  various  changes,  he  came  to  St.  Louis, 
as  bar-keeper,  and  remained  in  that  employment, 
till  the  28th  of  July,  the  day  he  murdered  Brown. 
They  had  been  on  good  terms.  He  had  nothing 
against  Brown,  and  did  not  know  that  Brown  had 
any  thing  against  him.  It  was  sunday.  There 
was  more  drinking  on  that  day  than  any  other. 
It  was  generally  our  best  day.  There  were  six 
or  seven  boarders ;  all  but  one  had  been  drink- 
ing, and  were  so  intoxicated,  that  when  they 
came  to  testify,  they  did  not  know  much  about 
it.  Brown  had  had  two  fights,  one  below,  and 
the  other  above  stairs.  Prisoner  had  parted  him 
from  his  antagonist,  both  times.  He  was  not 
in  the  habit  of  carrying  pistols,  but  during  the 
fracas,  he  had  picked  up  the  pistols  and  put  them 
in  his  pocket,  for  fear  mischief  might  be  done 
with  them.  Brown  was  angry  with  prisoner, 
because  he  had  interfered,  came  u^)  to  the  coun- 


RESULTS    OP    SABBATH    BREAKING.  119 

<er,  drew  a  knife  from  his  pocket,  and  swore  he 
Mould  kill  him.  Prisoner  instantly  drew  a  pistol 
from  his  pocket,  and  shot  him.  "  I  was  intoxi- 
cated," said  he,  "  but  not  drunk  ;  if  I  had  not 
been  intoxicated,  and  engaged  in  that  business, 
I  would  never  have  been  here."  And  may  we 
not  add,  if  he  had  not  been  trampling  on  the 
laws  of  Jehovah,  he  might  not  have  been  left  to 
bring,  by  the  indulgence  of  ungoverned  passion, 
such  a  fearful  doom  upon  himself ! 


THE  KENNEBEC  DAM. 

A  few  years  since,  when  the  prosperity  of  the 
eastern  section  of  our  country  was  at  its  height, 
a  company  was  formed  with  a  large  capital,  for 
the  purpose  of  constructing  a  dam  across  the 
Kennebec,  just  above  the  flourishing  village  of 
Augusta.  It  was  a  daring  attempt,  and  marked 
the  spirit  of  enterprise,  which  distinguishes  the 
hardy  sons  of  Maine.  The  noble  river,  which 
bears  to  the  ocean  the  gathered  waters  of  a  wide 
tract  of  country,  had  hitherto  rolled  on  in  quiet, 
undisturbed,  except  by  the  numerous  vessels 
which  were  wafted  on  its  bosom.     The  village 


120    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

is  built,  in  part,  upon  a  narrow  strip  of  land, 
between  the  hills  that  rise,  abruptly,  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  river.  When  the  rains  are  heavy, 
and  the  snow  melts  rapidly,  in  the  spring  of  the 
year,  the  river  is  liable  to  a  sudden  rise  of  its 
waters,  from  the  mountain  torrents  that  pour 
into  it,  in  the  early  part  of  its  course.  It  then 
acquires  a  tremendous  power,  which  might  well 
deter  the  boldest,  from  attempting  to  stay  its 
progress.  But  the  attempt  was  made,  and  a  man 
of  great  energy  of  purpose,  undertook  the  super- 
intendence of  the  work.  It  proved  even  more 
difficult  than  had  been  anticipated,  and  the  archi- 
tect began  to  fear  he  might  not  accomplish  it 
before  the  river  should  again  rise  in  its  strength, 
so  that  it  could  not  be  pursued.  Great  interest 
was  felt  in  the  undertaking,  and  the  papers  in 
the  vicinity,  reported  its  progress,  and  speculated 
on  its  probable  success.  In  this  state  of  affairs, 
the  manager  told  his  men,  that  the  work  must 
proceed  on  the  Sabbath.  It  was  done ;  and  for 
weeks,  the  scene  of  action  resounded  with  the 
din  of  labor,  on  that  holy  day.  Multitudes  of 
the  idle  and  thoughtless  were  attracted  thither, 
and  the  day  was  desecrated  by  numbers  who  had 
hitherto  kept  it  holy.     The  hearts  of  those  who 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.    121 

loved  the  Sabbath,  were  deeply  pained,  and  many 
predicted  that  a  work  thus  prosecuted  in  open 
violation  of  the  command  of  Jehovah,  could  not 
prosper.  At  length  the  stock  holders  interfered, 
and  forbade  any  further  labor  on  the  Lord's  day. 
The  Dam  was  finished ;  the  proud  river  was 
arrested  in  its  course,  and  compelled  to  obey  the 
bidding  of  man ;  and  the  proprietors,  as  well  as 
the  artificers,  exulted  in  their  success.  In  a 
short  time  after  its  completion,  the  river  rose 
unusually  high,  and  fears  were  excited  for  the 
safety  of  the  work.  Some  slight  injury  was 
sustained,  but  it  resisted  so  firmly,  that  it  was 
proudly  pronounced  safe ;  able  to  sustain  any  mass 
of  Avater  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 
But  he  who  tramples  the  law  of  God  under 
foot  and  boasts  that  he  has  escaped  with  impun- 
ity, must  learn  sooner  or  later,  that  he  has  known 
but  "  a  part  of  his  ways."  A  large  mill  of 
excellent  workmanship,  containing  six  saws,  had 
been  completed,  and  they  were  just  ready  to 
commence  operations,  when  by  rain  of  several 
days  continuance,  the  river  was  suddenly  raised 
to  an  unusual  height.  The  rush  and  roar  of  the 
water  was  fearful,  but  still  the  dam  resisted   and 

bore  it  unmoved.     But  the  purposes  of  Jehovah 
11 


122    RESULTS  or  SABKATH  KREAKINCV 

were  not  to  be  thwarted  ;  and  the  elements  were 
to  "  accomplish  that  whereto  he  had  sent  them." 
The  river,  at  his  bidding,  left  its  old  channel,  and 
cut  a  new  one,  carrying  with  it  houses,  gardens, 
shrubberies,  mills,  and  the  solid  walls  on  which 
they  stood,  destroying  property  to  a  large  amount, 
forming  a  frightful  chasm,  nearly  a  hundred  feet 
in  depth,  and  leaving  the  dam  a  useless,  solitary 
tiling. 

It  was  an  appalling  scene ;  and  what  rendered 
it  the  more  thrilling,  was  the  circumstance,  that 
the  work  of  desolation  teas  completed  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  on  that  day,  men  were  employed 
in  tearing  down  and  removing  an  elegant  man- 
sion, belonging  to  some  of  the  stock-holders,  to 
save  it  from  being  carried  away  by  the  flood. 

The  public  prints  of  the  day,  describe  this 
scene,  as  one  of  desolation  and  terror  to  bystand- 
ers, and  involving  an  immense  pecuniary  loss  to 
the  proprietors  of  the  dam.  It  is  not  for  us  to 
say,  how  far  this  was  a  retribution,  for  permitting 
so  gross  a  violation  of  the  Sabbath,  but  certain 
it  is,  that  the  elements,  under  the  control  of  the 
God  who  said,  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy,"  fought  against  the  work  in  a  ter- 
rible and  unprecedented  manner. 


RESULTS  OV    SABBATH  BREAKING.    123 


SCENE  IN  NANTUCKET. 

FROM    THE    N.    Y.    EVANGELIST. 

"  The  sea  is  his,  and  he  made  it/'     Psalms. 

The  Joseph  Starbiick  was  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  perfect  ships  that  ever  sailed  from 
any  port.  On  the  last  Sabhath  in  November, 
184*2,  this  ship  was  towed  out  of  the  harbour  of 
Nantucket,  and  across  the  bar,  to  be  taken  to 
the  port  of  Edgarton,  about  thirty  miles  distant, 
on  Martha's  Vineyard,  there  to  be  loaded  for  a 
voyage  of  four  years,  round  Cape  Horn.  About 
thirty  seamen  were  on  board  the  ship,  and  five 
ladies,  relatives  of  the  officers,  were  in  the  cabin, 
accompanying  their  friends  to  Edgarton,  to  re- 
main with  them,  for  the  two  or  three  weeks, 
during  which  they  would  be  receiving  their  stores 
into  the  ship,  for  their  long  and  adventurous 
voyage.  Soon  after  crossing  the  bar,  the  wind 
freshened,  and  blowing  directly  against  them, 
impeded  their  progress,  and  at  eleven  o'clock,  it 
was  so  strong  that  the  steam  boat  could  not  tow 
the  ship  against  it ;  and  it  became  necessary  for 
the  boat  to  return  to  the  harbour,  and  for  the 
ship  to  cast  anchor  till  the  wind  should  abate. 


124    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

The  wind,  however,  continued  to  increase,  and 
in  the  afternoon  it  was  blowing  almost  a  gale. 
The  latter  part  of  the  afternoon,  a  small  coasting 
vessel  which  ran  into  the  harbour  for  protection, 
brought  the  intelligence,  that  the  ship  had  parted 
one  of  her  chain  cables,  and  that  she  was  then 
riding  by  one  anchor  only.  Great  apprehension 
was  consequently  felt  for  the  fate  of  the  ship  and 
those  on  board.  But  no  relief  could  be  afforded 
them.  As  the  darkness  of  the  night  closed  down 
around  us,  shutting  out  the  distant  ship  from  the 
reach  of  any  glass,  the  cold  and  freezing  wintry 
gale  seemed  inspired  with  new  fury.  It  rushed 
with  awful,  with  terrific  power  over  our  sea-girt 
island,  and  seemed  actually  to  howl  and  yell,  as 
it  shook  the  very  foundations  of  our  dwellings. 
Few  slept  that  night  who  were  aware  of  the  sit- 
uation of  the  ship ;  and  while  longing  for  the 
dawn  of  the  morning,  they  almost  dreaded  its 
approach  from  fear  of  the  revelations  they  felt 
assured  it  must  make. 

Early  in  the  morning,  I  went  upon  my  house- 
top with  a  spy-glass,  and  immediately  saw  the 
ship  four  miles  off,  driven  upon  the  bar,  a  mel- 
ancholy wreck.  It  was  intensely  cold,  the  gale 
still  raged  with  unabated  fury,  and  the  ship  was 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.     125 

lying  on  her  side,  about  a  mile  from  the  nearest 
shore,  evidently  bilged  and  full  of  water,  her 
mizzen-mast  gone,  and  the  terrible  billows  of 
the  ocean  breaking  over  her,  and  throwing  the 
spray  topmast  high.  As  I  saw  the  ship  rolling 
in  those  dreadful  breakers,  every  wave  apparently 
sweephig  the  deck  with  resistless  power,  the 
frozen  sails  floating  in  the  gale,  and  the  shrouds 
coated  with  ice,  I  thought  it  impossible  that  a 
single  individual  could  have  survived  the  horrors 
of  the  night.  Soon  learning  that  an  attempt  was 
to  be  made  with  the  steam  boat  Massachusetts,  to 
go  to  the  wreck,  as  I  had  personal  friends  on 
board  the  ship,  I  could  not  resist  the  desire  to 
accompany  those  who  were  bound  to  the  rescue. 
The  maddened  wund  rushed  with  but  slightly 
abated  fury,  over  the  ocean,  as  the  steamer  left 
the  wharf,  and  battling  its  way  out  of  the  har- 
bor, faced  the  storm,  and  plunged  through  the 
foaming  billows.  As  we  drew  near  the  wreck, 
hardly  a  hope  remained,  that  any  one  on  board 
could  be  living.  The  ship  was  lying  upon  her 
side,  on  the  north-east  end  of  the  bar,  a  mile 
from  the  shore,  evidently  bilged  and  full  of 
water,  her  shattered  spars  and  rigging  dashing 
in  the  foam  around  her,  every  thing  swept  from 


126    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

the  deck,  the  shrouds  coated  several  inches  thick 
with  ice,  the  sea  washing  over  her,  and  often 
breaking  topmast  high,  and  occasionally  a  wave 
of  great  magnitude  would  lift  up  the  ship,  and 
dash  her  against  the  bottom  with  indescribable 
fury.  Some  said,  "it  is  impossible  that  any  one 
can  be  living."  Others  said,  "  if  there  be  any 
survivors,  we  can  afford  them  no  help,  it  will  be 
impossible  to  take  them  from  the  wreck,  in  the 
midst  of  these  breakers."  There  was  sufficient 
depth  of  water  between  the  bar  and  the  shore 
for  the  steamer,  and  moving  in  that  direction, 
we  soon  discovered  a  number  of  the  crew, 
drenched  with  the  waves  and  clinging  to  the 
icy  rail  of  the  ship,  thus  slightly  protected  from 
the  fury  of  the  sea.  Many  of  them  were  bare- 
footed, and  but  slightly  clothed,  probably  thus 
prepared  to  attempt  to  swim,  as  the  only  resort 
left  them,  should  the  ship  go  to  pieces,  as  was 
momentarily  feared.  When  the  ship  struck  the 
bar,  she  fell  upon  her  side,  with  her  deck  towards 
the  shore,  the  lower  rail  being  entirely  under 
water,  and  the  upper  rail  high  in  the  air.  It 
was  under  this  upper  rail,  over  which  the  sea 
was  continually  breaking,  that  the  drenched  and 
half  frozen  crew  were  clustered,  clinging  to  it 


RKSULTS  or  SABBATH  BREAKING.    127 

in  constant  danger  of  being  washed  down  the 
steep  and  slippery  deck.  The  steamer,  when 
opposite  the  ship,  turned  at  right  angles  with  it, 
and  ran  her  bow  directly  upon  the  wreck,  crush- 
ing the  lower  rail  which  was  under  the  water, 
and  a  cable  being  immediately  thrown  over,  the 
men  on  board  the  wreck  siezed  it,  and  made  it 
fast  to  the  capstan.  While  this  was  doing,  we 
heard  the  cheering  intelligence  that  all  were 
living,  and  we  saw  standing  in  the  companion- 
way,  the  entrance  to  the  cabin,  the  ladies  clus- 
tered together  with  drenched  bonnets  and  dishev- 
elled hair,  and  faces  pallid  with  anxiety  and 
suffering.  The  mom.ent  the  engine  stopped,  as 
we  threw  over  the  cable  to  the  crew,  the  gale 
blew  the  steamer  with  great  rapidity  from  the 
wreck,  and  we  were  soon  riding  some  twelve 
rods  distant,  held  to  the  wreck  by  the  cable. 

A  large  surf-boat  was  then  launched  from  the 
deck  of  the  steamer  into  the  boiling  surges  of 
the  agitated  ocean,  and  a  select  crew  of  hardy 
men,  familiar  with  such  dangers,  leaped  on 
board.  No  pen  can  describe  the  sublimity  of 
the  scene  as  they  were  "  borne  like  a  bubble 
onward,"  over  these  magnificent  billows.  At 
first  they  attempted  to  reach  the  deck  in  the  face 


1*28    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING, 

of  the  gale,  by  pulling  themselves  along  by  the 
cable.  But  now  a  wave  would  lift  them  high  in 
the  air,  above  the  cable,  or  dash  them  against  it, 
and  again  sinking  in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  the 
straightened  cord  would  be  vibrating  far  above 
them.  No  advance  could  be  made  in  this  way, 
and  they  therefore  resorted  to  their  oars.  Slowly 
they  made  headway  towards  the  wreck,  and 
passing  to  and  fro  five  several  times,  succeded 
in  removing  all  the  sufferers  safely  on  board  the 
steamboat.  Even  now  I  can  hardly  conceive 
how  it  was  possible,  in  the  midst  of  the  dashing 
billows  of  that  stormy  sea,  to  have  made  the 
transfer  of  those  helpless  ladies.  One  after 
another,  however,  they  were  all  drawn  up  the 
side  of  the  steamer,  and  made  as  comfortable  as 
circumstances  would  permit  in  the  warm  cabin. 

*  ^  :^  *  4^  * 

As  we  drew  near  the  wharf,  apparently  every 
male  inhabitant  of  Nantucket,  was  there,  to  hear 
the  tidings  from  the  ship.  We  are  not  a 
noisy  people,  and  the  intelligence  that  all  were 
saved,  was  silently,  but  gratefully  received. 
Soon  the  rescued  sufferers  were  conveyed  to  the 
firesides  of  their  anxious  friends. 

Such,    as   given    by    a   writer  of  undoubted 


RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING.    129 

veracity,  is  this  thrilling  talc  of  the  sea  —  a 
region  over  which,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  Jeho- 
vah reigns  alone —  and  where  man,  even  when 
riding  the  billows,  in  the  proudest  work  of  his 
hands,  must  feel,  that  when  God  works,  "  none 
may  stay  his  hand,  or  say  to  him,  what  doest 
thou.  "  Far  be  it  from  me  to  say,  that  the  wreck 
of  that  beautiful  vessel,  which  on  the  morning 
of  the  Lord's  day,  "  walked  the  waters  like  a 
thing  of  life,  and  the  sufferings  and  peril  of  its 
crew,  were  a  retribution  for  not  remembering 
the  command  of  him  who  has  said,  "  The  sea  is 
his,  and  he  made  it."  The  same  disaster  might 
have  occurred,  had  it  been  "  towed  out  of  the 
harbor  and  over  the  bar  * '  on  some  other  than 
God's  own  day.  But  I  must  believe,  that  had 
the  hearts  of  those  mariners  been  open  to  our 
view,  during  that  night  of  horrors,  we  should 
have  heard  conscience  whispering,  "  would  that 
we  had  remembered  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it 
holy;"  and  methinks  the  stoutest  hearts  must 
have  recoiled  from  the  thought  of  beins;  called 
into  the  presence  of  their  Judge,  while  in  the 
very  act  of  breaking  his  command.  How  much 
influence  such  a  consciousness  of  wrong  doing 
might   have,   in  paralyzing  exertion  in  such  a 


130    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

scene,  we  cannot  know  ;  but  this  we  know,  that 
mind  and  body  have  their  "  fullness  of  strength  " 
only  when  the  conscience  is  at  peace ;  only  when 
we  can  say,  with  the  consciousness  that  the  all- 
seeing  eye  is  upon  us,  we  are  in  the  path  of  duty. 
This  thought  reminds  me  of  another  fact,  of 
undoubted  truth,  which  most  forcibly  illustrates, 
at  least,  the  power  of  conscience  over  the  work- 
ings of  the  intellect :  an  intellect,  too,  which  had 
been  trained,  by  years  of  arduous  application,  to 
obey  the  mandates  of  the  will. 


THE  LAWYER  AND  THE  SABBATH. 

The  late  Rev.  James  P.  Wilson,  D.  D.,  of 
Philadelphia,  stated  in  a  company  of  gentlemen, 
that  when  he  was  a  lawyer  in  the  State  of  Dela- 
ware, he  generally  made  his  briefs  on  the  Sab- 
bath, and  that,  when  he  did  so,  he  almost  without 
an  exception,  lost  his  case  on  Monday.  At 
length  he  began  to  inquire  why  it  Avas  so  ;  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  because  he 
broke  the  Sabbath  by  making  out  said  briefs.  He 
at  once  resolved  never  again  in  his  life  to  take  ^.av 


RESULTS  OF  SARRATIT  RREAKTNO.     131 

part  of  that  holy  day,  and  devote  it  to  the  cause 
of  his  client.  And  he  affirmed,  that  he  never, 
after  that,  while  in  that  profession,  lost  a  case  on 
Monday.  This  was  before  he  became  a  Christ- 
ian. 

My  son  may,  perhaps,  after  reading  this,  glance 
at  some  work  of  science,  or  of  general  literature 
which  he  has  been  tempted  to  open  on  the  holy 
day,  and  ask,  with  a  smile  whether  memory  will 
not  do  its  office?  whether  it  will  refuse  to  in- 
scribe those  beautiful  thoughts,  or  those  profound 
investigations  on  its  imperishable  tablets,  because 
it  chanced  to  be  read  upon  the  first  day  of  the 
week?  Or  some  young  Tyro  in  the  law,  who 
has  not  yet  traced  its  pure  stream  high  enough 
to  learn  that  all  law  proceeds  from  the  throne  of 
God,  and  derives  all  its  power  from  the  Divinity 
enshrined  within  us,  may  ask  with  a  sneer, 
whether  the  great  Lawgiver  would  stoop  to  blast 
his  hopes,  and  render  his  efforts  fruitless,  just 
because  he  had  written  a  few  lines  upon  the 
Sabbath  day?  No,  this  I  would  not  say.  Bui 
this  I  do  assert  without  fear  of  contradiction 
from  any  one  who  has  bestowed  a  single  thought 
on  the  mysteries  of  our  being,  that  the  human 
soul  is  an  instrument  of  the  most  delicate  and 


132    RESULTS  OF  SABBATH  BREAKING. 

complicated  structure  ;  and  that  it  is  only  when 
kept  in  perfect  harmony,  that  it  gives  forth  at 
the  bidding  of  the  will,  those  tones  of  eloquence 
and  power  which  Avill  bow  and  subdue  other 
minds  and  hearts  to  its  sway.  That  perfect  har- 
mony and  nice  adjustment  of  its  faculties  is  lost, 
when  conscience,  the  rightful  sovereign,  is  diso- 
beyed. Then  the  baser  passions,  which  are 
continually  striving  for  the  mastery,  gain  ascen- 
dency, and  the  nobler  powers  of  the  intellect  are 
crushed  and  trampled  upon  by  their  usurped  and 
degrading  authority. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  lawyer  who  made 
his  briefs  on  the  Sabbath,  lost  his  case  on  Mon- 
day. The  harmony  of  his  soul  was  destroyed  ; 
there  was  an  insurrection  within  that  little,  but 
wonderful  world,  the  human  heart,  and  it  was 
in  vain  that  he  strove  to  give  the  full  strength  of 
a  vigorous  intellect  to  the  subject  before  him, 
when  his  powers  suffered  a  mutiny,  and  half  his 
moral  strength  must  be  expended  in  vain  effortg 
to  restore  peace  to  the  perturbed  spirit. 


TnE    BLESSING    OF    ONK    SABBATH.  133 

It  is  cheering  to  turn  from  the  sad  instances 
of  the  vengeance  of  Heaven,  upon  those  who 
violate  the  holy  day,  to  contemplate  some  cases, 
where  God,  in  mercy,  has  peculiarly  honored  his 
own  institution,  making  it  the  means  of  salvation 
to  those  who  had  long  disregarded  its  sacred 
claims. 

The  following  instance,  from  a  member  of  the 
Theological  Seminary,  Andover,  will  be  read 
with  deep  interest ;  and  oh  1  that  it  might  prove 
an  encouragement  to  those  who  have  hitherto 
lived  in  the  neglect  of  worship,  on  the  holy 
Sabbath,  to  turn  their  steps  to  the  sanctuary, 
where  a  blessing  may  await  them  also  : 


THE  SABBATH-BREAKER  REFORMED. 

In  a  recent  excursion,  I  became  acquainted 
with  a  young  gentleman,  who  is  a  warm  friend 
to  tracts  and  all  eiforts  to  increase  their  circula- 
tion. He  was  possessed  of  that  disposition,  I 
hope,  which  would  dispose  him  to  regard  all  the 
benevolent  and  christian  eiforts  of  the  day,  with 
pious  approbation ;  but  the  cause  of  tracts, 
seemed  to  call  forth  his  warmest  feelings.  The 
reason  of  this,  I  soon  learned.    A  few  years  since, 


134  THE    BLESSING 

he   taught  school   in  the  town  of  H ,  New 

York,  and  was  the  happy  instrument  of  exciting 
the  religious  attention  of  a  man  and  his  wife,  by 
reaching  them  a  tract.  They  had  treated  him 
with  attention  and  kindness,  and  he  esteemed 
them  as  personally  his  friends ;  they  were  re- 
spectable in  society,  and  carefully  sought  a 
present  and  temporal  interest,  but  were  negligent 
of  a  future  and  eternal  one.  They  especially 
showed  how  far  a  worldly  mind  was  leading  them 
astray,  by  their  treatment  of  the  Sabbath.  That 
was  the  day  with  them,  as  with  too  many  others, 
to  participate  in  the  more  respectable  kinds  of 
amusement.  Instead  of  attending  worship  with 
the  children  of  God,  they  used  to  ride  oflf  a  few 
miles,  in  good  weather,  to  visit  their  relations. 
This  was  a  cause  of  pain  to  him,  and  he  resolved 
to  make  a  feeble  effort  to  show  them  their  error, 
and  lead  them  to  reform.  On  a  Saturday  morn- 
ing, when  othe.r  engagements  would  allow  him 
to  spend  but  a  few  moments  with  the  family,  he 
called  upon  them,  and  having  done  some  little 
errand,  as  a  pretext  for  calling,  he  proposed  to 
read  to  them  a  tract,  from  a  collection  of  bound 
volumes  which  he  carried  with  him.  He  began 
to  read,  doubting  whether  the  man  would  attend, 


OF    ONE    SABBATH.  135 

till  he  should  close.     The  tract  he  had  selected, 
was  "A  Persuasive  to  Public  Worship."     He 
was   himself  much   interested,    and   read   with 
spirit,  and  soon  found  he  had  the  close  attention 
of  the  man  and  his  wife.     As  he  closed  the  tract, 
which  near  the  end,  entreats  the  reader  or  hearer, 
to  be  with  the  people  of  God  ,o.u  the  very  next 
Sabbath,  he  left  the  house.     He  was  affected ; 
he  felt  that  he  had  performed  a  duty  of  expostu- 
lation and  reproof,  which  he  could  not  have  done 
so  satisfactorily  by  his  own  remarks,  and  he  felt, 
as  every  one  should  feel,  who  attempts  to  give 
reproof,    the   need   of  divine    assistance.      He 
walked    but   a  few  rods,  and  gave  vent  to  his 
burdened  mind,  by  earnest  prayer  that  a  blessing 
might  attend  his  feeble  effort.     On  the  morrow, 
he  was  agreeably  surprised  to  see  the  man  at 
meeting;    and  soon,  too,  he  learned  that  both 
the  man  and  his  wife  were  earnestly  inquiring 
the  way  of  reconciliation  with  an  offended  God. 
The  way  was  shown  them  as  it  is  hoped,  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  in  one  month  from  the  time 
when  they  first  entered  the  house  of  prayer  on 
the  Sabbath,  they  were  joyfully  hoping  in  Christ. 


136  THE    BLESSING 


SABBATH  EVENING  AT  HOME. 

A  young  man,  in  giving  an  account  of  his 
conversion,  says,  "  One  Sabbath,  after  attending 
divine  service,  and  after  the  rest  of  the  day  spent 
in  awful  transgression,  I  returned  home  in  the 
evening  and  joined  the  family,  to  whom  my 
sister  was  reading  a  tract  aloud.  Contrary  to 
my  usual  practice,  I  remained  to  hear  it,  and 
with  my  sin  fresh  in  my  remembrance,  I  listened 
with  deep  emotion  to  its  awful  truths.  It  was 
entitled  "  The  End  of  Time."  The  passages 
which  particularly  struck  me,  were  these  :  "  The 
end  of  time."  When  shall  the  sinner's  heart 
give  up  its  last  hope?  None  are  completely 
miserable  before  death ;  indeed,  the  vilest  men 
are  often  the  most  merry ;  but  it  will  not  be 
always  so.  Their  joy  will  be  turned  into  heav- 
iness. Imagine  the  Judge  upon  the  throne, 
calling  you  to  answer  these  inquiries  at  his  bar. 
"  How  have  you  spent  the  many  Sabbaths  I  have 
afforded?  Did  you  improve  your  time  well?" 
"  Time  shall  end !  "  How  valuable  then,  while 
it  lasts,  particularly  to  the  unprepared !  Every 
hour  you  have  is  a  merciful  respite.     Go  forth 


OF    ONE    SABBATH.  137 

and  meet  your  offended  Sovereign  !  Seek  him 
while  he  may  be  found ;  call  upon  him  while  he 
is  near.  Go  in  the  name  of  Jesus ;  plead  his 
righteousness,  his  blood,  his  death,  his  inter- 
cession, and  say,  '  God  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner!'" 

The  young  man  read  the  tract,  and  prayed 
over  it.  The  Lord  was  pleased  to  open  the  eyes 
of  his  understanding,  and  to  begin  a  good  work 
in  him.  He  is  now  a  candidate  for  the  ministry, 
and  a  consistently  pious  character. 


THE  POOR  FISH  WOMAN. 

FROM    WHITECROSS'    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The  Rev.  J.  Patteson,  of  Edinburgh,  having 
occasion  to  preach  on  a  Sabbath-day,  in  Dundee, 
had,  previously  to  his  leaving  home,  laid  aside 
and  ordered  to  be  packed  up,  with  some  neces- 
sary articles,  a  certain  note-book,  which  con- 
tained the  sermon  he  wished  to  preach.  On  his 
arrival  in  Dundee,  however,  which  was  not  till 
the  Saturday  evening,  on  examining  the  contents 

of  his  valise,  he  found  the  note-book  wanting, 
1-2* 


1^  THE    BLESSING 

nor  had  any  other  been  substituted  in  its  place. 
He  was,  therefore,  late  as  it  was,  obliged  to 
make  choice  of  a  new  subject,  but  so  defective 
was  his  preparation,  that  he  feared  he  should  not 
only  disgrace  himself,  but  the  christiarr  ministry 
likewise.  But  "  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power, 
but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  It  happened 
on  the  afternoon  of  that  very  Sabbath,  that  a 
poor  fish-woman,  notorious  for  clamor  and  pro- 
fanity, blundered  into  the  meeting,  and  such  was 
the  subduing  effect  of  the  sermon,  upon  her  soul, 
as  immediately  to  produce  the  most  marked 
change  in  her  spirit  and  conduct.  On  Monday, 
she  attended,  with  her  fish-basket,  at  market  as 
usual ;  but  oh,  how  changed  !  Instead  of  her 
former  noise  and  profanity,  she  was  quiet  and 
calm  as  a  lamb ;  instead  of  asking  from  her 
customers,  double  or  triple  the  value  of  her  fish, 
she  spoke  to  them  with  discretion,  and  told  them 
the  lowest  price  at  once.  Surprised  at  this  new 
behaviour  of  the  woman,  some  who  were  present, 
judging  she  might  be  indisposed,  began  to 
inquire  for  her  health.  One  of  them,  in  partic- 
ular, said  to  her,  "  Dear  Margaret,  what  is  the 
matter  with  you  ?  you  are  not  at  all  as  you  used 
to  be."  •  "  No,"  replied  Margaret,  "  and  I  hope 


OF    ONE    SABBATH.  139 

i  never  shall  be.  It  pleased  God,  to  lead  me, 
yesterday,  to  Mr.  M'Ewen's  meeting-house, 
where  I  heard  words  I  will  never  forget,  and 
found  something  come  over  me,  the  like  of 
which  I  never  knew  before."  The  woman  lived 
to  give  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  of  the 
soundness  of  her  conversion,  by  a  walk  and 
conversation  becoming  the  Gospel. 


THE  UNKNOWN. 

FROM    THE    LIFE    OF    KILPIN. 

A  lady  in  high  life,  introduced  herself  to  his 
study  with  the  apology  that  she  thought  it  her 
duty  to  inform  him  that,  some  years  before,  she 
was  passing  the  street  as  a  stranger,  on  the  Sab- 
bath, when,  seeing  many  persons  enter  a  passage, 
she  followed  them,  and  found  herself  within  his 
chapel.  Every  object  was  new ;  but  she  listened, 
and  was  interested  in  the  sermon.  Immediately 
after,  she  left  England,  and  with  some  young 
friends,  became  the  inmate  of  a  convent  of 
France,  to  finish  her  education.  While  there, 
every  argument  was  employed  to  convert  them 


140  THE    BLESSING 

to  the  Roman,  Catholic  religion.  Her  English 
associates  were  overcome  by  these  persuasions. 
"  Your  discouse,  sir,"  said  she,  ''which  I  could 
never  get  from  my  mind,  has  been  my  preserva- 
tion from  that  period  to  the  present,  though  I 
have  been  beset  with  every  snare  from  family 
connections,"  &c.  Mr.  Kilpin  recommended 
suitable  books  to  her  attention,  and  devoutly 
committed  her  to  the  God  of  heaven,  while  she 
knelt  by  him,  bathed  in  tears.  Her  name  or 
residence  he  knew  not,  but  we  may  hope  that  in 
glory  she  will  be  among  those  who  will  bless  the 
Lord,  that,  while  here  on  earth,  he  gave  them 
his  Sabbaths. 


THE  BLESSING  AND  THE  CURSE. 

FROM    THE    EPISCOPAL    RECORDER. 

The  particulars  of  the  following  very  striking 
incident,  were  lately  told  us  by  a  friend,  as  a 
fact  falling  within  the  range  of  his  personal 
knowledge ;  and  having  the  'most  perfect  confi- 
dence in  his  veracity,  we  scruple  not  to  give  it 
as  such  to  our  readers. 


OF    ONE    SABBATH.  141 

In  a  seaport  town  on  the  west  coast  of  England, 
some  years  ago,  there  was  notice  given  of  a  ser- 
mon to  be  preached,  on  Sunday  evening,  in  a  dis- 
senting chapel  there.  The  preacher  was  a  man  of 
great  celebrity  in  his  calling ;  and  that  circum- 
stance, together  with  the  pious  object  of  his  dis- 
course, to  enforce  the  duty  of  a  strict  observance 
of  the  Sabbath,  attracted  an  overflowing  audience. 

After  the  usual  prefatory  prayer  and  hymn  of 
praise,  the  preacher  gave  out  the  text,  and  was 
about  to  proceed,  when  he  suddenly  paused, 
leaned  his  hand  on  the  pulpit,  and  remained 
silent  for  a  few  moments.  It  was  imagined  that 
he  had  become  indisposed,  but  he  soon  recover- 
ed himself,  and,  addressing  the  congregation, 
said,  that  before  entering  on  his  discourse,  he 
begged  to  narrate  to  them  a  short  anecdote. 

"It  is  now  exactly  fifteen  years,"  said  he, 
since  I  was  last  within  this  place  of  worship  ; 
and  the  occasion  was,  as  many  here  may  remem- 
ber, the  very  same  which  has  now  brought  us 
together.  Among  those  that  came  hither  that 
evening,  were  three  young  men,  who  came  not 
only  with  the  intention  of  insulting  and  mock- 
ing the  venerable  pastor,  but  even  with  stones 
in  their  pockets  to  throw  at  him,  as  he  stood  in 


143  THE    BLESSING 

the  pulpit.  Accordingly,  they  had  not  listened 
long  to  the  discourse,  when  one  of  them  said, 
impatiently,  'Why  need  we  listen  any  longer  to 
the  blockhead  ?  throw  !'  But  the  second  stopped 
him,  saying,  'Let  me  first  see  what  he  makes  of 
this  point.'*  The  curiosity  of  the  latter  was  no 
sooner  satisfied,  than  he  cried,  'Aye  1'  confound 
him,  it  is  only  as  I  expected ;  throw  now  1' 
But  here  the  third  interposed,  and  said  it  would 
be  better  altogether  to  give  up  the  design  which 
brought  them  there.  At  this  remark,  his  two 
associates  took  offence,  and  left  the  church, 
while  he  himself  remained  till  the  end. 

"Now  mark,  my  brethren,"  continued  the 
preacher,  with  much  emotion,  "  what  was  after- 
wards the  fate  of  these  young  men.  The  first 
was  hanged  at  Tyburn,  for  the  crime  of  forgery ; 
the  second  is  now  lying  under  sentence  of  death 
for  murder,  in  the  jail  in  this  city.  The  third, 
my  brethren  " — and  the  speaker's  agitation  be- 
came excessive,  while  he  paused  and  wiped  the 
large  drops  from  his  brow —  "  The.  third,  my 
brethren,  is  he  who  is  about  to  address  you !  lis- 
ten to  him." 


OF    ONi:    SABRATH.  143 


HOPE,  AND  TRY  AGAIN. 

The  following  facts,  communicated  by  Rev. 
Br.  Matheson  of  England,  to  the  New  York 
Evangelist,  furnish  encouragement  for  effort  in 
cases  apparently  hopeless.  A  poor  man,  who 
was  a  slave  to  strong  drink,  came  home  one 
Sabbath  evening  intoxicated  and  found  his  child 
dead.  Notwithstanding  his  degraded  condition, 
he  was  not  wholly  lost  to  the  feelings  of  nature, 
and  the  event  deeply  affected  him.  After  some 
time  his  wife  persuaded  him  to  go  and  order  a 
coffin.  On  his  way,  passing  a  place  of  worship, 
he  was  attracted  by  the  music,  and  thought  he 
would  just  go  in  and  hear  the  singing,  promising 
to  himself  that  he  would  stay  no  longer,  lest  he 
should  hear  something  which  would  make  him 
feel  worse.  But  after  the  singing,  he  thought 
he  would  hear  the  text.  This  was,"  Prepare  to 
meet  thy  God."  He  was  alarmed  at  the  very 
sound  and  left  the  house.  As  he  was  turning 
the  street,  a  young  man  handed  him  a  small  pa- 
per, saying  it  was  very  short,  it  would  not 
take  him  long  to  read  it,  and  it  might  do 
him  good.       But   what    was   his  astonishment, 


144  THE    BLESSING. 

to  find  at  the  head  of  the  paper,  the  very  same 
words  which  had  just  created  so  much  alarm, 
*Trepare  to  meet  thy  God  ? "  This  very  much 
increased  the  impression  on  his  mind,  and  that 
night  he  began  to  pray.  For  some  time,  he  was 
on  the  bordersjof  despair,  till,  at  length,  he  call- 
ed on  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  society  that 
published  the  tract,  and  received  such  directions, 
as,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  led  him  to  the  Savior, 
and  he  is  now  an  humble  follower  of  Jesus,  and 
a  consistent  member  of  the  church. 


